


Her Brother’s Keeper

by laxit21, mewmew666



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Felicity has a brother, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, olicity - Freeform, olicity au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2019-10-11 16:13:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 56,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17450201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laxit21/pseuds/laxit21, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mewmew666/pseuds/mewmew666
Summary: Felicity Smoak’s older half-brother is her best kept secret. A problem child and the black sheep of the family, Jack left for Gotham years ago, had a very, very bad day and was never the same again. She’s heard from him rarely since then. Now, he’s decided to pay her a visit. He spots his baby sister with Oliver Queen and, suddenly, he  doesn’t see what’s so funny and for once he isn't smiling.





	1. Chapter 1

**Gotham City- 2008**

Felicity Smoak sat in the chief psychiatrist’s office at Arkham Asylum, trying not to scoff or roll her eyes. The doctor continued outlining all the rules, regulations and conditions she needed to follow and abide by. When he noticed she wasn’t really listening anymore, and just nodding along, he paused.

“You need to take this seriously.”

“I am. Or at least, I was. You’ve told me the same rule three times now, I think I get it.” she responded. “So, now that I know, and acknowledge all your rules, can we move on?”

“Certainly.” He said shuffling his papers. He handed one sheet to her. “I do need you to sign this however. For liability purposes.”

“You make every visitor sign an insurance waiver to see your patients?” she asked.

“No, but you aren’t seeing just any patient here.” He pulled out a stack of photos and showed one to her. “He did this when your mother visited him. Didn’t like what Jones said about her, so he bit his ear off and mauled half of his face. Broke half his ribs too, when she wouldn’t ‘play’ with him anymore.” He flipped to another photo. “Did this his first week. Never said why. Brown needed months of physical therapy because of how he dislocated his arm. He also snapped his collarbone in half.” Arkham put the photos away. “You see now, why the waiver is necessary.  Sign and I’ll have someone escort you to…him.”

She sighed, signed the form and waited for a guard to escort her to the person she came to see. An average looking brunette man who was about five years older than Felicity walked her through the facility. He was dressed in riot control gear, unlike the other guards she’d seen so far.

“You know, you don’t seem the type.” He said.

“The type? What type?”

“One of his fan girls.” He said bluntly.

The blonde immediately started laughing, which made the guard stop and give her a confused look. “I’m not a fan girl. He’s my brother. He has fan girls?”

“Yeah. Mostly teenagers or chicks who should be locked up in this place too.” He answered.

They reached a fortified door, which the guard unlocked. As they walked down the hallway, a sense of foreboding washed over Felicity. The hall was as quiet as a cemetery and the only sounds that permeated the air were their footsteps. Along one wall were the words ‘JUST REMEMBER I’M NOT TRAPPED IN HERE WITH YOU. YOU’RE TRAPPED IN HERE WITH ME’ painted in dark red.

“Wrote that himself.” He remarked. “After they moved him here but before they took out the cameras.”

Soon enough, they reached the only door in the hallway and the guard pulled out his keys and began unlocking the multiple locks on the door. At the very bottom of the door, there was a small metal door that could be pulled up from the outside. She could see red stains surrounding it and hoped it was rust. When the last lock was off but before he opened the door, he gave her one last warning. “You sure you wanna see him?”

“Yeah. I am.” She said confidently. The man shrugged and pulled the reinforced door open.

The cell was mostly dark. There were no light bulbs, so the only light was coming from a small, barred window about eight feet up. Felicity couldn’t see anyone in the cell at first. Then, she saw two glowing red dots staring at her in the darkness.

“Hello Lissy.”

“Jack?”

“Jack? Jack’s dead, sis.” He said as he leaned into the light. She a rattling noise, like a chain of some kind, as he moved. When she could see him, she knew why. There was a collar around his neck that seemed to be attached to a wall behind him.

This was the first time Felicity had seen her brother since his ‘accident’. Short, spiky green hair. Red-rimmed sunken yellow eyes and skin that was too white to be human. The worst part, however, was his smile. His lips were red and were stretched into a smile that was too large to be possible. She took it all in before her eyes started tearing up.

“You can call me the Joker, and as you can see, I’m a lot happier.” The Joker said. “Glad you came to visit. I’d give you a hug but-“ he shrugged, drawing her attention to the straight jacket he was wearing. “Still, it got the door open, didn’t it?”

“I wasn’t sure if- could you please stop smiling like that?”

He began to cackle loudly, which made the guard look visibly uncomfortable. “That’s the best part. I can’t. Batsy threw me into a vat and now, I’m always smiling.”

“Is that why you did what you did? Because you wanted to make Batman pay?” she asked.

“Is that why he sent you here? So you could get answers? Thought you were smarter than that.”

“He didn’t send me. I just wanna know.”

“No, I wanted to thank him, for my new outlook on life. Killing the boy was just a joke that was too good to waste.” He answered, before he started cackling again.

Felicity nearly started sobbing when she heard that. If her brother killed a teenager out of revenge or as an accident, she could justify it as a temporary lapse in judgement. Killing a teenage boy because otherwise it would ‘ruin the joke’ put things in perspective. She understood why her mom insisted she visit Jack and not wait for his release. He would never get released.

The Joker noticed the look on her face and stopped laughing. “Oh, were you hoping, like dear old mom, that you could get ‘the real Jack’ back? Sorry sis, he’s gone. It’s more fun this way, anyway.” He started laughing again. “See ya real soon.”

“Goodbye, Jack.” Felicity said as she walked away from the cell. As the guard was re-securing the cell, she took off down the hallway, wanting to get out of the asylum. Another guard caught her at the first enforced door they’d gone through.

“I- I need to get out of here.” she told him.

“You didn’t know, did you?” the first guard asked. She shook her head.

“I haven’t- it was right after- I hadn’t seen him or heard from him since before he became-“

“The Joker.” He finished. “Look, before you go, his shrink wanted to talk to you. She’s in the boss’s office. I was told to bring you there.”

Felicity nodded and let the guard escort her back to the office. A blonde woman who looked a few years older than her was standing in the room, arguing with Dr. Arkham. Her hair was pulled back into a bun. She was wearing glasses, a white coat and a black pencil skirt. Overall, the woman looked pretty but unremarkable.

“- not a good idea, but I won’t stop you for now.” He told her. then, he noticed Felicity. “Ms. Smoak, I’d like you to meet Dr. Quinzel. She’s the psychologist assigned to your brother’s case.”

“Nice to meet you.” the doctor said.

“Thanks, you too. You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes, I wanted to talk a little about your brother. I was hoping you could give me some insight on the best way to help him.”

A part of Felicity wanted to say that the only way to help Jack was a lobotomy. Or a bullet to the head, but she didn’t. Instead, she decided to go the polite route. “I’ll tell you what I can, just not today. It’s been- can you give me your details and I’ll call you in a few days?”

The therapist nodded enthusiastically and handed Felicity a business card. She took it and asked to speak with Akrham alone. She asked him about the security measures around her brother’s cell and got more answers than she bargained for.

The cell and wing didn’t have cameras because he’d been using them to psychologically torture the staff. Two had a mental breakdown and one went on a shooting spree at the asylum, allowing Jack to escape. He was housed by himself because he was too dangerous to be anywhere near the other patients based on how easily he riled them up the first, and last day, he was in the same wing as them. The food flap was at the bottom of the door because he broke the arm of the guard bringing his meals otherwise. The first guard’s arm was broken in three places. He also broke the man’s wrist and dislocated his shoulder. The flap was moved to the bottom of the door and the guards then pushed the meals into him on the floor, until one day, the guard reached his arm in too far. This resulted in the guard’s arm being broken in four places, and Jack mauling his hand and trying to bite off his fingers. There was no light in his cell because he broke the bulb. The staff replaced it the first few times, but he kept breaking the lightbulbs and they gave up after a while.

Felicity left the asylum and sped back to her hotel. She knew it wouldn’t change anything, but she wanted to be as far from that building as possible. Later that night, she looked outside to see Batman on her room’s balcony.

She yanked the door open. “What do you want?”

“Do you see now? What your brother has become?” Batman asked her. “Why I came to you?”

“Yes, but what happened to him to make him the way he is? You, you happened. Jack wasn’t an upstanding citizen, but this, the Joker, he’s like this because of you.” she slammed the door shut and closed the blinds.

On the other side of the door, Batman responded. “I know, and it’s my biggest regret.”

Felicity laid on her bed for nearly an hour before deciding she needed to talk to someone. she grabbed her phone and called the only person she could. “Mom?”

“Hey, honey. I- what’s wrong?”

“I just- I got back from Arkham a little while ago and-.”

“Oh, I wish you would’ve told me. I would’ve come with you. You shouldn’t have gone alone.” Donna said. “Seeing him- it’s not easy.”

“He’s- he’s not- I don’t-“ she couldn’t find the right words.

“I know, baby, I know.”

“I met his therapist. She seems nice.” Felicity said, trying to find something positive to say. “She thinks she can help him, which makes me feel bad for her.”

“She’ll realize he doesn’t wanna be helped soon enough.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity struggles to adjust to her new job, the Joker searches for something and Felicity gets an unexpected visitor.

**Starling City- October 2013**

Felicity let out a sigh of frustration. She was an MIT graduate. Every technology or software company in the country had extended job offers after she got her Masters. Yet, here she was, answering phones for Oliver. She knew he thought this was the best way for their partnership not to seem suspicious. That didn’t mean she was any less angry or insulted that the only thing he could come up with was a secretary. Now, it seemed like every person in the building was judging her.

To make matters worse that day, Isabel had come storming into Oliver’s office that morning. She was in rare, unapologetically bitchy form too. Felicity wasn’t stupid, she knew Isabel had never liked her. She couldn’t figure out exactly why though. Some of it no doubt had to do with her friendship with Oliver, but other employees who preferred Oliver didn’t receive the same treatment. The blonde dealt with it as best as she could. She didn’t rise to Isabel’s bait and treated her with the utmost politeness. It seemed to make her even more angry, which Felicity found funny. Her mom had always told her to ‘kill em with kindness’; she was surprised it worked so well.

The door to Oliver’s office slammed open and Isabel stormed out. She threw out a rude comment to Felicity on her way to the elevator as she muttered under her breath. Felicity shrugged it off and kept typing.

“Are you- we didn’t- are you okay?” Oliver asked from the doorway.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Did you not hear what she said?”

“I’ve been called worse. She’s nothing compared to Ja-“ Felicity got choked up for a second. “As long as she sticks to bitchy comments, I can handle it.”

“You were gonna say something about your brother, weren’t you?” he asked.

In the year he’d known Felicity, he’d only heard her mention her brother once. When they hatched the plan to infiltrate the underground casino to find Walter, Oliver hadn’t been on board at first. He didn’t like the idea in the first place and didn’t think Felicity could pull it off. She shut him up by saying her brother taught her how to count cards, she’d been doing it for years, and was really good, all in her Loud Voice. He was so startled by her outburst that the first thing he asked was ‘you have a brother’. She didn’t respond, which made him think something had happened.

“Maybe I was.” she said evasively.

“You know, you never talk about him.” He remarked casually. Thinking back on it, he didn’t know that much about Felicity or her family.

“It hurts, especially after what happened. It’s not a good story. It’s not a happy story. And- we weren’t super close growing up, but still, I- ”

“You don’t need to explain it to me.” he said. “Sorry if asking made you uncomfortable.” He went back into his office.

* * *

 

**Elsewhere**

The Joker’s head shot up as the door in front of him opened. He aimed his gun at the man walking in. “Where is she?”

“It’s….complicated. Her arrest wasn’t on record. The agency exists in the shadows. The prison she’s in, it’s a black site.”

“So, you didn’t do your job.” He fired the gun, it grazed the man’s arm and landed in the wall. “Don’t come back here without a location.” The man yelped and sprinted from the room.

He hadn’t expected it. Playing with Harley’s head had been fun at Arkham. He didn’t expect that he’d actually miss her after he broke out and she decided not to be such a bore anymore.

* * *

 

**Starling**

The last few days had been hectic for Felicity and the team. Sara Lance was alive, which made Oliver happy. She’d joined the League of Assassins, which made him angry. Unfortunately, Sara had abandoned the League to check on her family after the Undertaking and didn’t want to leave.

The League had sent a handful of assassins to bring her back, dead or alive. They lured her out by targeting her family. Sara was able to stop, and kill, the group they sent but knew she couldn’t stay. She had dinner with her father before leaving the city under the cover of darkness.

“Think she’ll be okay?” Felicity asked Oliver as they watched her rental car, paid for in cash, drive away. She’d only met Sara a few days ago, but she was still upset she was leaving.

“She’s a survivor. I just wish-“

“That there was something you could do. That it didn’t have to be like this. That she’s turned your offer down six years ago.”

“Yeah.”

“Something tells me we’ll see her again.” Felicity said, right as her phone rang. She answered it. “I already told you my answer. I have no desire to help you.” Then, she hung up.

Miles away, Batman’s scowl deepened. This called for a more direct approach.

* * *

 

**Joker’s Hideout**

Joker walked into room where Griggs was supposed to be working. He had one job: find Harley. Yet, for some reason, he hadn’t done it yet. The man slowed his work after hearing the door open but didn’t turn around. He walked up behind him and put both hands on his shoulders.

“You are not a very hard-worker, are you?”

“Boss, I-“

“Yes. I know, I know, I know. She’s at a black site, but ARGUS can only have so many of those.” He said as he walked around the man. He pulled out a knife and began running it over Griggs’ face. “I don’t think you’re properly motivated.”

“No, wait! I found her, I found her. I didn’t wanna tell you ‘til I knew everything I could about the prison.”

“Where is she?”

“A few miles outside of Starling.”

* * *

 

**Starling**

Felicity rolled her eyes as the phone on her desk rang again. She picked it up and began reciting the same greeting she’d been giving for the last week.

“Queen Consolidated, Mr. Queen’s office. May I ask who’s calling?” There was silence on the other end. She waited in silence for some kind of response before hanging up.

Then, her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and the number was blocked. “Hello?”

Silence on the other end once again. For the rest of the day, she kept getting calls from a blocked number. She tried to trace the call, but the signal was bouncing all over the place. It was starting to freak her out. When Felicity went home to change before heading to the foundry, she was so tightly wound that her neighbor slamming his front door made her jump six feet in the air. She unlocked her front door and tried to calm down. She was just being paranoid. Nothing was going to happen. She moved into her living room and saw the light she’d left on this morning wasn’t on anymore. The room was enveloped in darkness. Suddenly, something moved in the shadows. She saw two red dots staring out at her and a set of perfectly white teeth.

“You should really get your locks changed. Anyone could just walk in here.” the Joker said as he leaned forward with a sick smirk on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity 'reunites' with her brother who didn't just come to Starling to say hi.

“You should really get your locks changed. Anyone could just walk in here.” the Joker said as he leaned forward with a sick smirk on his face.

“It was you wasn’t it? The creepy phone calls all day.”

He chuckled, which was a disturbing sound and she glared at him. “What? It was a good joke/”

“No, you scared the crap out of me. It wasn’t funny.” She argued. “Why are you here?”

“Can’t you believe I missed my little sister?” Felicity gave him a look, so he dropped the act. “Harley. ARGUS has her stashed away nearby. I can’t just leave her there.”

“Why not?” Felicity never understood Harley’s relationship with her brother. Sometimes it seemed like he barely tolerated her. Other times, she thought that maybe he actually felt something for her.

“Because I….miss her.” he answered honestly. He couldn’t, or rather wouldn’t, put a name to that feeling and settled for missing her. Missing her didn’t immediately imply anything deeper. “You’re gonna help me.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Where did this new, law-abiding Felicity come from? I remember a goth hacker who broke the law without a second thought. And I’ve got the pictures to prove it.”

“She grew up. I’m not helping you, get out of my house.”

“Fine.” He said standing up. “When you change your mind, I’m sure you’ll be able to find me.” he walked out.

She closed and locked the door before sliding down to the floor. She needed to tell someone about this. She couldn’t just let her brother run wild around the city. ARGUS was out of the question. As was Batman. And she hadn’t worked out a way to break the news to Oliver. “Frack.”

She went to the foundry and acted like nothing was wrong.

 

Oliver was out on patrol and trying to figure out how to get Felicity to open up. he knew something was bothering her. She’d been on edge at work that day and seemed even more anxious when she arrived at the foundry. She claimed nothing was wrong, but it was clear she was lying.

He was leaving the scene of a robbery he stopped when he sensed someone land on the roof behind him. Nocking an arrow, he turned and aimed it at the person.

“We need to talk.” Batman said, ignoring the arrow aimed at his face.

“I really don’t think we do.”

“Arrow,” Felicity said over the comms. “Get away from Batman and get back here now.”

“Your city and everyone in it is in danger.” Batman had underestimated the Joker once. He wasn’t going to make that mistake twice.

“Thanks for the warning, but we don’t need your help.” Oliver said before shooting one of his grappling arrows at a nearby building and departing.

“What was that about?” Oliver asked Felicity when he got back to the foundry.

“What was what?”

“Your very clear dislike of Batman.”

“I- It’s- I don’t trust him. and I’m not a fan of his methods.” She answered. His methods led to Jack becoming the Joker. That was reason enough for her to dislike how he worked.

 

Queen Consolidated was buzzing the next morning. Wayne Enterprises had approached QC for a project and Bruce Wayne himself had travelled to Starling to discuss the partnership with Oliver and Isabel. Felicity wasn’t included in the meeting for security reasons, at Isabel’s insistence, so she stayed at her desk and worked on paper work. Forty-five minutes into the meeting, she got a call from security.

“Your brother is on his way upstairs.” The guard told her. “I wanted to let you know.”

“My brother?” she asked worriedly right as the elevator doors opened. 

Jack stepped out wearing a brown pinstripe suit. His hair was dyed blonde and slicked back. she noticed he’d put on make-up to hide his white skin and most of his scars. Sadly, he couldn’t hide his permanent smile. He was also wearing glasses for some reason.

“What are you doing here? And what’s with the glasses?”

“No one notices you if you’re wearing glasses.” He said.

“You can’t be here. This is where I work.”

Right as she said that, the meeting ended and Bruce Wayne, Oliver and Isabel exited the conference room. Oliver, John and Bruce immediately noticed how tense Felicity was and grew concerned.

“Felicity is everything ok?” Oliver asked.

Jack turned around to face the group and answered for her. “Everything’s fine.”

“Can I help you?” Isabel asked

“You must be the coffee girl. I take mine with cream and lots of sugar.”

“That’s her job, not mine.” Isabel responded in a snooty voice after she picked her jaw off the floor. “It’s the only thing she’s good for. Not that Mr. Queen here would agree.”

“She graduated from MIT and worked hard to be where she is. Unlike you, who probably got to where you are on your back.”

Isabel’s eyes moved to Felicity and she began to get angry. “How dare you impl-“

“She didn’t say anything. You just look like someone who slept their way to the top. Well, almost the top.”

“I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Jay Smoak. Came to visit my sister. Nice to meet ya. Glad I got to see how you handle your affairs here.” He said looking pointedly at Isabel who went pale and stormed off. he extended a hand for Oliver to shake. “I’ve just been quaking to meet you, Mr. Queen.”

“Nice to meet you as well. Felicity’s one of our best employees.” Oliver fell into CEO mode and didn’t know what else to say. Something about Jay seemed off. It unsettled him, especially the permanent grin the man seemed to have.

“Oh, I’m sure you’d be lost at sea without her.”

“My brother stopped by to say hi. He was just leaving, since he knows I have work to do.” Felicity said.

“You’re right. I should go.” He turned to Bruce. “Have we met before?”

Bruce froze, which made Felicity feel nervous. Nothing about Bruce Wayne indicated that he wasn’t intimidating. The billionaire was in his mid-30s with close cropped black hair and shockingly blue eyes. He was taller than Oliver, likely 6’2” or 6’3”. No one knew what Bruce did when he wasn’t running Wayne Enterprises, but whatever it was clearly kept him active. He was very muscular, possibly more muscular than Oliver. Between his size and his countenance, Bruce Wayne could intimidate whoever he wanted without needing to open his mouth. 

It was silent for several moments. “No, I don’t believe we have.”

 “You seem…familiar to me. Oh well, be seeing you, Mr. Wayne.” He pointed his finger like a gun and pretended to shoot Bruce. As he turned to go, he began staring at John.

“Can I help you with something?” Diggle asked.

“Oh no. I have the feeling I’ll be seeing you real soon, Mr. Diggle.” Jay said before walking away.

“I’m afraid I have another meeting to get to. I’ll be in touch, Queen.” Bruce said. He wasn’t expecting the Joker to do this, to appear in public in the middle of the day. He had to rethink things. “Enjoy the rest of your day, Ms. Smoak.”

When Bruce was gone, Oliver and John both turned to Felicity. “Felicity-?”

“I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t- I didn’t think he’d come here.”

“Why don’t we talk in my office?” Oliver suggested.

“There’s nothing to really talk about. My brother’s in town.”

“I noticed. I’m just surprised, because you made it sound like he’d died.”

“Sometimes, I think that would’ve been better.” she said absent-mindedly. The rest of the day was very tense and John and Oliver decided to follow Felicity’s lead and ignore Jack’s visit.

During patrol, Oliver ran into Batman once again. This time, the caped crusader didn’t take no for an answer and insisted on talking to Oliver and his team. When Oliver refused, not wanting Batman to know where his base was, he countered with claiming to already know.

“As bases go, Verdant isn’t the worst or most obvious location, but it isn’t exactly the last place I’d look. I’m surprised Felicity Smoak didn’t suggest a better one.”

That was how Batman wound up walking into the foundry to see a confused Diggle and an angry Felicity standing there.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

“Felicity-“

“No, this is ridiculous.”

“You don’t like me, I’m fine with that. I’m not your biggest fan either. but this isn’t about you or me. and you know it.” Bruce growled out.

“What are you two-?”

“The Joker’s in town. And he’s planning something.” He paused to see the two men's reaction. “Judging by your surprise, I’m guessing Felicity didn’t tell you that.”

“How would Felicity know that?”

“Because she’s his sister.” All eyes turned towards Felicity.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Felicity butt heads while John and Oliver learn what the Joker wants.

“The Joker’s in town. And he’s planning something.” He paused to see the two men's reaction. “Judging by your surprise, I’m guessing Felicity didn’t tell you that.”

“How would Felicity know that?”

“Because she’s his sister.” All eyes turned towards Felicity.

The blonde saw red. She knew she was going to tell Oliver and Digg about her brother, but she wanted to do it in her own way and in her own time. She didn’t want one of her least favorite people to just announce it and ruin her chances of getting to explain things properly. Since he spilled her secret, maybe she should return the favor. “Really, Bruce? You had to phrase it like that.”

“Wait, why did you-?”

“Bruce Wayne is Batman.” She repeated. If it was possible, Batman scowled even harder. “What? Does it make you angry when people share your secrets without talking to you first? I wonder what that’s like.”

“Back up. The Joker is your brother?”

“Not anymore. Thanks to him.” she gestured to Bruce.

“Your brother was never exactly a saint.”

“I’m not saying he was, but look me in the eye. Look me in the eye and say that my brother and the man who visited QC today are the same person. You can’t, because you know they aren’t. because of you.”

“You two wanna clue us in?”

“My brother was a small time criminal. Bank robberies mostly. He ran into Batman here during a heist. They fought and Jack fell into a vat of chemicals. The person who came out wasn’t Jack anymore.” She said. “He’s still alive, but he’s not my brother anymore. That’s why I talk about him like he’s dead. And why I don’t like him.”

“I’m partially responsible for his accident, yes. And his physical transformation. But his other issues, his mental state, the accident didn’t cause that. It just worsened it. The Joker had been building up inside of him for years and if anyone bothered to notice-“

“You don’t want to finish that sentence. You wanna pretend like it wasn’t your fault, fine. A dick move, but fine, but don’t you dare blame me or my mother for the way Jack is.”

“So, the Joker is Felicity’s brother and you two hate each other. None of that has anything to do with why we’re here.”

“Why didn’t you tell us the Joker was in town?”

“I didn’t know until last night, and I hoped I could get him to leave.”

“You thought you could talk to him?” Oliver asked in confusion.

“She’s one of two people who’ve gotten through to him in the past.” Batman admitted. “She stands a better chance of talking him down than any of us.”

“What does he want?”

* * *

 

**Gotham-2008**

The Joker was sitting in his cell, wondering what they’d do now. His therapist had come down to his cell for one of their sessions. He wondered when Arkham would give up on trying to reform him. The therapist he had was a bore. He took everything Jack said far too seriously and wasn’t fun to play with anymore. It was past time to get rid of him.

He tricked the man into getting really close to the bars so he could attack him. He lashed out and began biting the man’s neck. He pulled away with blood dripping down his face. The therapist froze in shock and Jack continued his assault, biting and hitting him. He broke both the man’s arms when he tried to pull away and started playing Eenie Meanie, Minie, Moe with his fingers to decide which ones to bite off. The guards heard his screaming and pulled the doctor to safety. As they rushed him to the medical wing, Jack let out a loud, high-pitched laugh.

That was a week ago. It was time for another session, if they hadn’t given up on him yet. The door to his cell opened and he looked over. Instead of his last therapist’s pudgy, anxious face or Dr. Arkham’s smug face, he found himself looking at a blonde woman in her mid-twenties. Her hair was up in a bun and she was wearing a pencil skirt, pink blouse, white lab coat and glasses.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Harleen Quinzel. I’m your new therapist.” She said, taking a seat. “I understand you like to be called The Joker.”

“I am the Joker.” He said. This, messing with her, it could be fun. Or in the very least, distracting enough. “Harleen Quinzel. That’s a nice name, rework it a little and you get Harley Quinn.”

“Like the clown character harlequin. You aren’t the first person to notice.” she said, pulling out a notepad. “Let’s talk about you.”

Rather than answer her questions, he spent the session grilling her. For every question she asked, he had one for her ready to go. She became frustrated after a while and left. Harley entered her office the next day and found a rose on her desk. She walked down to the Joker’s cell and confronted him. He’d broken out of his cell to give her the flower, she should’ve already told the administrators about it. He was fazed by her threat and pointed out that, if Harley was going to tell, she already would have.

She gave him a cold glare and turned to walk away. He needed to ensure she’d come back, and made a comment about how he ‘wished there was someone wanting to hear his side of things’. He made it sound like he truly wanted someone to confide in. She fell for it and sat back down.

“I guess we should start at the beginning. I had a very lonely childhood. Sad too. I only had my mother and sister, but mom worked a lot, so it was just me and Felicity. We looked out for each other.” He told her. “From an early age, I always wanted to make people laugh. There wasn’t much laughter growing up, so I wanted to create it wherever I could. I didn’t always get the reception I hoped for.”

The next week, after Felicity visited, Dr. Quinzel came back. She wanted to know how he felt about seeing his sister again after so long. He told her he was happy to see his sister but also conflicted. Felicity didn’t seem prepared to accept him for who he was now.

Two months later, after nine more sessions, the Joker managed to cut himself with the plastic spoon he’d been given with his lunch. He stabbed himself in the leg, knowing the guards would have to take him to the hospital wing. In transit, he broke free of his restraints and escaped the asylum.

Batman returned him bloody and bruised a week later. The first time Dr. Quinzel saw him after his escape, she gasped in shock. She’d grown attached to her patient and hated seeing such a misunderstood man so injured and helpless. Six months later, during a session, the Joker asked her to get him a machine gun. He escaped the next week, taking her ‘hostage’ with him.

“You’ve done good so far, but I can’t be sure you won’t tell Batsy.” He said when they were far enough away from the asylum.

“I won’t. I’ll prove it. Anything you want me to do, I’ll do it.”

The Joker’s permanent smile grew even wider. “I was hoping you’d say that.” That night, in an abandoned chemical plant, Harley Quinn was born.

* * *

 

**Starling City-Present**

“ARGUS has a woman in their custody. Her name is Harley Quinn.” Batman explained. “She was his therapist. He drove her insane and now she’s one of his lackeys.”

“She’s not just a lackey. They’re in love, or at least, love in the way they understand it.” Felicity said.

“And he came here to break her out?” Oliver asked.

“It would appear so.”

“Do you know what his plan is?”

“The Joker doesn’t plan.” Batman growled.

“His four successful escapes from Arkham say otherwise.”

His first break out happened a few months after he was sentenced to Arkham. After being moved to his own wing, he began to torture the staff psychologically through the cameras. Someone was required to watch the cameras at all times, so he went out of his way to show them how dark and twisted his mind was. Batman didn’t find him for over a month. For his second escape, Joker got himself sent to the infirmary and attacked the guards in transit. He was brought back a week later. The third time, he escaped with ‘poor helpless Dr. Quinzel’ as a hostage. Months later, he was returned to Arkham and Harley was sent somewhere else. His fourth escape is what brought him to Starling City.

“So, he’s definitely going to attack ARGUS.” Digg said.

“I doubt it would be an all-out assault. The Joker is mentally unstable, but he’s not that crazy.” Batman said. “Are you sure he didn’t mention anything else?”

“He didn’t.”

“If he had, would you tell me?”

“I wouldn’t tell you. I’d tell them though.” Felicity said gesturing to Oliver and John.

* * *

 

**Starling Outskirts**

Joker sat in the back of a stolen delivery van as one of his lackey’s drove up to the gate. It had taken Griggs a long time to find it, but the man had discovered ARGUS implanted a microbomb into Harley’s neck shortly after her arrest. If she escaped or ever tried to escape, ARGUS would use it to kill her. The money trail from ARGUS led to Van Criss Labs.

If Felicity wouldn’t help him find Harley and break her out, then he’d have to go straight to the source. The guard in the security booth denied the van entrance. The driver handed over the basket and waited for it to explode. With the guard dead, they began to attack the building.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Joker makes his move.

The doctor’s hand froze over the button to alert security when the Joker held up the phone showing his family tied up. He told the man if he didn't do exactly what he asked, then his family would pay the consequences. Unsurprisingly, the man agreed to do whatever the Joker said.

“Open the door.” He ordered and the man did. He wandered around the room for a little bit before he found the device he was looking for. The gun that injected ARGUS’s prisoners with micro bombs. He strolled over to the man and injected it into his neck. “The bomb I just put in your neck, how would I disable it?”

“Well, it's a rather-”

“Ah, ah, ah. I'd answer quickly if I were you. I might get bored and accidentally tell my guys you wouldn't cooperate. Now, I shouldn't care if you lost your head but I need you alive to disable someone else's, so if you don't talk quickly, your family's gonna have a very bad day.”

“I can disable it, but I have to be on site to do it.” The doctor told him.

“That’s what I like to hear.” He turned to his lackeys. “Keep the doctor here company. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid.”

 

“So, the Joker is your brother.” Oliver said, taking a seat next to Felicity.

“I don't wanna talk about it.”

“Understandable, it's just- it's surprising.”

“I know. Why do you think I go out of my way not to talk about him at all?”

“And you and Batman?”

“I hate him for what he did to my brother. He hates me for what Jack did to him.”

“What did he do?”

“That's not a story I need to tell right now.” Explaining what had happened to Jason Todd would take some time, time they didn't have. “We should focus on what he's doing now.”

“So, he's after an ARGUS prisoner.”

“Yes, and knowing Waller, it's gonna be harder to get her out than just breaking in and breaking her out.”

“You know Amanda Waller?”

“We've met. She tried to use me as bait to catch my brother. It didn't work. Jack only remembers he has a sister when he wants to.” She said. “John, come over here.”

Digg walked over to where they were. “You need to tell Lyla to be careful over the next few days. And you need to be careful too.”

“You think he’ll come after me.”

“I think he found out where Harley was from someone, and that someone might've told him about other ARGUS agents. His comments to you at QC shouldn't be taken lightly.”

“He's not gonna attack an ARGUS agent.”

“They said the same thing about him killing the mayor of Gotham.” Bruce pointed out. “They were wrong.”

“I’m not saying he will, I’m saying he could.” Felicity explained. “And I don’t want that on my conscience.”

 

Joker left Van Criss Labs and drove into Starling. He knew where Harley was but he needed one more person’s cooperation to break her out of ARGUS custody. John Diggle seemed to be friends, or in the very least friendly, with Felicity. He wondered if she’d told anyone who he really was after his visit to her office. He doubted it. Felicity liked to pretend she wasn’t related to him anymore.

In any case, Joker found himself knocking on John’s door and leaving a box on the mat before he answered. He heard the door open and close. A few moments later, he heard a thud. The knock-out gas in the package had taken affect. Seconds later, he heard another, smaller thud. John wasn’t the only person in the apartment. He pushed the door open to find John and Lyla both unconscious in the apartment.

“And I was worried I’d have to track you down.”

 

John felt dizzy as he woke up. The last thing he remembered was someone knocking on his door. Then, everything went dark.

“Well, look who’s finally awake.” A high-pitched voice called out. john turned his head to find the Joker sitting on his couch staring at him. Lyla was next to John, still knocked out. “Now we just need Agent Michaels here to wake up, and we can get down to business.”

“What do you want?”

“I’m not gonna spoil the fun just yet.”

They sat in silence while waiting for Lyla to come to. Joker didn’t take his eyes off of John once. It was starting to creep the soldier out. The Joker just sat there, unblinking, with a sick smile on his face. It made him more than a little uncomfortable. After an eternity of being stared at, Lyla began to stir.

Her eyes popped open and she sat up. She saw the Joker and moved to grab her gun. It wasn’t there.

“Looking for this?” Joker asked, dangling the firearm from one finger.

“What do you want?”

Jack something out of his jacket and held it up. “I take it you know what this is.” It was the device ARGUS used to implant the microbombs into Task Force X members.

“Yes.” Lyla answered, not liking where this conversation could go.

“I injected it into Digger’s, do you mind if I call you Digger, Diggle doesn’t really suit you and John sounds weird, neck while you both were unconscious. You help me out or your boyfriend’s head goes pop.”

“Lyla, what is that?” Digg asked her.

“It’s a device ARGUS uses to implant microbombs in the necks of some of their prisoners. The useful ones, anyway. I’ve got the detonator.” The Joker answered.

“You want us to help you break Harley Quinn out of ARGUS.”

“Oh, so Felicity did tell why I was here. Good to know.”

“I won’t help you break her out of ARGUS custody.”

“No, you’re going to help me. And you’re not gonna break her out, you’re gonna break me in.” He said standing up. “Tick tock. Time’s a-wasting.”

“How do I know you won’t blow his head off afterwards?”

“You don’t.”

Reluctantly, Lyla and John followed him out.

 

Felicity called John again. He didn’t answer. Worried, she asked Oliver to head over to his apartment. Since it was still light out, he couldn’t go as the Arrow, but kept his comms in anyways.

“Felicity, I’m at Digg’s apartment. He isn’t here.”

“Do you see anything out of the ordinary? A sign of a fight?”

“No, nothing odd.” He answered. Then, his eyes fell to something. “That’s weird.”

“What?”

“There’s this weird jack-in-the-box-“

“Stop! Don’t touch it. Don’t go near it. Don’t pick it up.” She yelled. “Jack was there.”

“You need to get back here, right now.” Bruce said.

 

Oliver made it back to the Arrow cave where Bruce was already dressed as Batman. Felicity was pacing the length of the lair. She kept muttering something under her breath, but he didn’t have time right now to ask what she was saying.

“Jack has Digg.”

“Why take him?”

“Because his girlfriend is ARGUS and that makes him a more valuable target.” Bruce said. “There’s something else. He broke into a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises, one of our weapons manufacturers.”

“What did he take?”

“An injection gun. ARGUS uses it to implant microexplosives into their prisoners. And he kidnapped the only man who can disarm them.”

“You need to get to ARGUS now!” Felicity said.

“I’ll grab my bike.” Oliver said.

“Don’t worry, I brought my car.” Bruce left the lair, and a perplexed Oliver followed. A large, black vehicle that looked like it belonged to the military drove up to where they were standing and stopped in front of them.

“Why don’t you have one of those?” Felicity turned to Oliver and asked.

 

At ARGUS, Joker’s henchmen held Amanda Waller and everyone in the control room at gunpoint. Two had gone to take Harley out of her cell and three others were setting things up to remove the microbomb. Dr. Van Criss had been pulled into the room, but he had a hood over his head.

“What are you going to do? Kill me?” Waller asked him.

“Oh, I’m not gonna kill ya. I’m just gonna hurt ya, really, really bad.” He answered, before gesturing to the two men standing directly behind her. They each grabbed one of her arms to keep her from moving. He pulled out the injection gun and held it against Waller’s neck. Just like with Digg, he injected the microbomb into her neck and she was unable to stop him.

“What’s the point of all of this? You can break her out, but you can’t remove the implant.”

“Are you sure about that?” He asked before the door to the control room opened.

A blonde woman with stark white skin, just like the Joker’s, stepped inside. Her hair was up in pigtails, with the end of one pigtail dyed blue and the other dyed pink. Her bright blue eyes had a crazed look in them. She had bright red lips which widened into a smile when she saw who was there. “Puddin’!” She exclaimed, running towards him.

“Harley, I want you to meet my friend, Dr. Van Criss.” He said as one of his lackey’s tore the hood off of the man’s head. “Doctor, you know what to do.”

“Van Criss, if you remove that-“ Waller started to shout.

“If I don’t, he’ll kill my family. I’m in this situation because of you.” The man shot back. He turned his attention solely to Harley and got to work disabling the implant. He was able to change the signal from being activated to disarmed. That could’ve been the end of it, but the Joker told him not only to disarm it, but to remove it. He removed the implant and announced he was done.

“All righty then.” He pulled out a gun and shot Dr. Van Criss in the head. If the doctor was dead, he couldn’t disarm the bombs in Waller and Digg’s necks. His men started to retreat. Waller, Lyla and several other AGRUS agents moved to chase after them. Batman and the Arrow burst into the room at that moment. “Now, now, now. Let’s not lose our heads.” He said, pressing a button on the detonator for John and Amanda’s implants. John flinched, expecting his head to get blown off in seconds. Instead, a blinding, unbearable pain shot through his body. The pain only increased the with time.

“Toodles.” Harley said as she gave Amanda a little wave.

“What’s wrong with you?” Batman, who wasn’t used to seeing Amanda Waller look anything less than completely collected, said.

“He injected both of them with the same explosives we use on Task Force X.” Lyla said.

“And he found a way for them to kill us slowly.”

Batman was able to remove both devices, although it took longer than anyone would’ve liked. By the time they were removed, the Joker and Harley were long gone and the trail was getting colder by the second. With John and Waller no longer about to die, the director of ARGUS was furious and demanded to know how exactly all of this happened.

 

Felicity came home from the Arrowcave and found two flowers sitting on her counter. Underneath them, there was a note that read “don’t think just because I have Harley back I’m just gonna leave and since Batsy’s here already, I’ve decided to have some FUN…..love J.”

“Oh dear God.” Felicity said reading it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Joker plots and teams up with an old foe of the Arrow's. There's a death in the family.

The Joker and Harley were holed up in their hideout in Starling. Last night, he’d broken Harley out of ARGUS’s custody and made a pit stop at Felicity’s place on the way to their hideout. His original plan was to find Harley and leave. When both Batman and the Arrow showed up to stop him at ARGUS, he started to rethink things.

Starling seemed like a place where he could have some fun, and with Batman already in town, he already had someone to play with.

“So, puddin’, what are we gonna do now?” Harley asked.

“Now, we’re gonna play a little game with Batsy and the Arrow.”

“And I thought he didn’t play well with others.”

 

The next day was Saturday, so Felicity didn’t have work, which was why Oliver called her at noon, asking her to meet him at the foundry. He said they needed to talk about Jack. Knowing she couldn’t really delay anymore, she went over there. She was disappointed but unsurprised that Bruce Wayne was also there.

“Since we failed to stop your brother, I think its time to head back to Gotham.” He remarked.

“If you’re leaving because you want to, fine. But if you’re leaving because you think that’s where he’s going, I wouldn’t count on it.” She told him. “I had visitors last night. Good thing I wasn’t home when they showed up.”

“They were at your apartment? How do you know?” Oliver asked.

“They left me a little gift. And this.” She handed the note Jack had left to Oliver, who began reading it aloud.

“I’ve decided to have some FUN. That’s not good.”

“No, its not.” Bruce agreed, storming out of the building.

“I need everything you can find on your brother. There’s too much I don’t know about him, or Harley, and I don’t like not knowing.”

“I’m gonna tell you now, there isn’t that much to find. At least, not officially.” She said. “And I might be able to tell you about Jack, but not much about the Joker.”

“Why do you do that? Refer to them like they’re two different people.”

“Because they are. Yeah, they technically are the same person, the Joker’s body is my brother’s body, but personality-wise, action-wise they’re vastly different. Jack died when he fell into that vat of chemicals.”

“I know it might be hard, but-“

“No, you don’t. See, your mother’s part in the Undertaking is hard to believe, but its still believable. Jack and the Joker, its not. Jack never could’ve-.”

“Never could have what?”

“Do you wanna know why Batman hates me? It’s because of what happened the first time the Joker broke out of Arkham, what he did. What I didn’t try to stop him from doing.”

“What are you talking about?” Oliver asked in confusion.

“The first time he broke out of Arkham, Batman came to me and asked for my help. He was trying to get Jack back to the hospital as fast as possible, worried about what he might do or who he might hurt. I was angry, so angry at Bruce that I refused point blank. I didn’t care what his motives were, I didn’t care that he was trying to do good. All I saw was the man who drove my brother insane.”

“What happened?”

* * *

 

**2008**

In an empty building in the middle of nowhere, Jason Todd let out a grunt as he fell to the floor. He’d already taken a number of bad hits, but continued glaring up at his captor like nothing had happened.

“Wow, that looked like it really hurt.” The Joker remarked standing over the teen. His grin widened and he hit the teen twice more with the crowbar in his hand. Jason rolled onto his back and let out a more painful grunt. “Wait, that looked like it hurt a lot more. So let’s try to clear this up, okay pumpkin? What hurts more, A?” He hit Todd with the crowbar. “Or B?” He hit him again, from a different angle. “Forehand? Or backhand?”

The teen tilted his head up and his mouth started to move. The Joker bent down and taunted him, saying he needed to speak up. Jason waited for him to get closer before spitting blood in his face. He grabbed Jason by the hair and bashed his face into the ground a few times.

“The first Boy Blunder had better manners. I should teach you a lesson….nah, I’m just gonna beat you with this crowbar.” He said as he started to laugh and began hitting Jason with the weapon again.

 

Batman dropped the criminal he’d been questioning as soon as the thug admitted where the Joker had taken Jason. He jumped onto his motorcycle and sped to the location. Joker had had Jason captive for days by this point. He didn’t know what state he might find Jason in or if he’d find Jason at all.

 

The Joker opened the side door of the building but turned back to address Jason. “I gotta go. Its been fun though, right? Well, maybe a little more fun for me.” He put on his jacket and watched as Jason struggled to breathe and move. “Well, all good things must come to an end. And hey, tell the big guy I said ‘hello’.” He laughed manaically as he closed the door to the warehouse behind him, leaving Jason alone.

As soon as the door closed, Jason’s eye popped open and he stood up, trying to walk towards it. He only made it a few steps due the beating he’d taken. He was pretty sure he had collapsed lung. When he fell to the ground and couldn’t muster the strength to stand anymore, he began crawling towards the door.

He made it to the door and tried to open it. Something was blocking it from the outside.

He leaned against the door, hoping Bruce was on his way and he’d be found soon. Then, he heard it. beeping. Repetitive beeping. Turning his head, Jason saw a large bomb, wired into an alarm clock. The timer had about 10 seconds on it.

Bruce jumped off of his bike and ran towards the warehouse. He was about ten yards away when an explosive went off and he was thrown back. He collected his bearings and started searching the rubble. He found Jason under a pile of debris.

“Oh no. Jason.” He said as he held his son’s broken body. For the first time in a very, very long time, Bruce Wayne cries. Written on Jason’s costume were the words ‘HAHAHA JOKE’S ON YOU BATMAN’ with spray paint. He read those words and felt himself grow angrier than he’d been in a very long time.

 

Batman caught up to the Joker about a week later. He was returned to Arkham with a face that was more black-and-blue than stark white. He had to be brought in on a stretcher because of how badly he’d been beaten. The doctors were worried about the Joker succumbing to his injuries. As he was beign wheeled back into the asylum, he was giggling hysterically, making the orderlies feel incredibly unsettled. Jason Todd was put to rest the next day.

* * *

**Starling-Present**

“So, he hates me and I hate him, but neither of us can really fault the other.” Felicity said, after telling him what happened to Jason Todd. “I hadn’t seen him at that point, but I went to visit him in Arkham shortly after that. I asked him why he did it, why he killed him. Do you know what he told me? He had to do it, because not doing it would’ve ruined the joke.”

“You couldn’t have known that was going to happen.”

“And that’s supposed to make it better? You knew the people on your father’s list were up to something, just like I knew from his arrest that the Joker was dangerous. You couldn’t have known Merlyn was going to destroy the Glades. Does that make Tommy’s death any easier?”

Oliver didn’t bother to answer her question, because he knew she was right. He felt responsible regardless of how little he could’ve done to stop it from happening.

 

In their hideout, Joker and Harley waited for two of his guys to come back with a guest. When he was looking for Harley, he kept an eye out for any people in Starling who sounded like fun. Only one caught his eye and if his source was right, the man had escaped prison a few months ago.

Joker’s men returned carrying a third man between them. “Is that anyway to treat a guest?”

“He put up a bit of a fight, boss.”

“Well, well, well, what have we here?” The man said, surprised at who he was meeting. “If I had known who wanted to see me, I wouldn’t have made things so difficult.”

“I’m a fan of your work.”

“As I’m a fan of yours.” The Count said.

“Harley, come and meet the Count.” The Joker said to the woman behind him.

“The Count? Isn’t that a character on Sesame Street?” She asked as she moved closer.

“This one’s a lot more fun. What do ya say we make this city a little less dreary?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Count and the Joker team up, Felicity reveals some unpleasant things about her brother and Moira's trial begins.

“What do ya say we make this city a little less dreary?” The Joker asked the Count.

“What do you have in mind?”

“We’re so glad you asked.” Harley said, with a grin. The trio walked into a room in the hideout where there was an entire laboratory set up and waiting to be used.

 

Felicity was telling Oliver everything she’d worked out about how the Joker operated nowadays when the door to the foundry opened. A very uncomfortable looking Lyla entered followed by three ARGUS agents.

“Felicity, you need to come with us.” Lyla said. they could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t want to be here.

“Why?”

One of the other agents spoke up. “ARGUS knows you knew about your brother’s attack. Waller wants to know what else you know, but haven’t told us.”

“I didn’t know what he was planning.”

“You’re still coming with us.”

“No, I’m not. Unless you have a warrant, which we all know you don’t, because Waller doesn’t like to leave a papertrail, so silly things like following the correct process don’t happen. So, really, the only way I’ll go with you is if I want to, and I don’t want to.” She turned to walk away. she stopped and turned back around. “Actually, let’s save ourselves some time. Amanda, you wanna talk to me, come down here and do it yourself!”

“Who are you yelling at?” Oliver said.

“You think a control freak like Waller would send them anywhere without at least one of them wearing a wire?” Felicity asked.  About thirty seconds later, Amanda Waller walked down the steps of the foundry with an annoyed look on her face. “What do you want?”

“Your brother was in town, you knew your brother was in town. Why didn’t you inform us?”

“Let’s see, the first time he escaped, ARGUS abducted me to try and draw him out. You locked me in a room for three weeks and continuously questioned me about him, even though you knew I hadn’t seen him in a year. He killed everyone in the building, in case you’ve forgotten. The second time, you had your agents watching me 24/7 instead of actually trying to locate him. Remember what happened? How he sent the surveillance team back to you in pieces? Because I do, after he sent me the photos. So, why would I trust ARGUS enough to tell them anything?” She responded. “But you know who I did trust enough, Oliver, Digg, hell, even Batman. I told them he was in town, and less than twenty four hours later, it was already too late.”

“You should’ve told us.”

“And you should’ve thought twice before putting a bomb in Harley’s head. Frankly, you’re lucky he didn’t do worse when he attacked ARGUS.”

“Worse? You’re saying we got off easy.” An agent said in disbelief.

“When my brother was eleven, so before Batman, before the Joker, when you’d think he wouldn’t be so bad, my mom’s boyfriend was in a car accident and almost died. His brakes failed, and when the police were investigating the crash, they discovered the brakelines had been cut. No one could explain it, then two days later, I saw Jack throwing a book about car mechanics into a dumpster. That wasn’t the first, or last, time something bad happened to one of the men my mom was dating. The fact that he didn’t kill all of you, except maybe Lyla and Waller so they’d have to live with it, is a bit surprising.”

“Do you know what he’s up to now?”

“No, I don’t. Like I’ve been telling you for years, the Joker only remembers me when he needs something. He got Harley back, so he doesn’t need me.”

 

As the Count got to work making his new strain of Vertigo, Harley and Joker stood off to the side, watching. She turned to her Puddin’ and asked him a question. “Why didn’t we bring Lissy too?” Ever since Dr. Quinzel became Harley Quinn, she’d called Felicity Lissy.

“She doesn’t have much of sense of humor anymore.” He answered. “But soon, we’ll make her laugh again.”

 

Felicity went into work a few days later and was surprised to see Digg there. She expected him to be at the courthouse with Oliver, since today was the first day of Moira’s trial. On top of that, John didn’t look too good. He was starting to sweat and he looked at little wobbly. She was trying to convince him to go home when he passed out in front of her. She rushed him to the foundry and sent a sample of his blood to someone she knew at QC.

 

“I have to say, your return to Starling hasn’t been as….exciting as I was hoping for.” The Joker told the Count as he walked into his lab.

“Just wait until Moira Queen’s trial gets underway. I wanted to make it memorable. And her trial’s hogging all of the press coverage.”

 

At Moira’s trial, the ADA was about to begin questioning Thea when he collapsed. The Count intercepted the ambulance before it reached the hospital and broadcasted a message throughout the city. Donner, Diggle and countless others had been injected with Vertigo and were going through withdrawal. The cure was simply, tame more Vertigo.

After talking with Digg, Felicity managed to figure out how he’d gotten drugged, and with Oliver at the courthouse, she went to investigate. She found the truck the Count was using as a cover, but he found her right as she discovered his stockpile of fake flu vaccine. He knocked her out, and she woke up at QC.

“This truly isn’t personal, but your friend the Arrow and I have unfinished business.” He told her.

“What makes you think this’ll end any different from the last two times you went up against him?” she asked as she eyed the syringe of Vertigo warily.

“This time, I have help. I recently met The Joker and we struck up an agreement. If he can handle Batman, the Arrow shouldn’t be difficult.” The Count told her.

“The Joker’s working with you?” She asked. Then, she chuckled. “Oh, man. You just went and did the dumbest thing you ever could’ve done.”

“What do you-?” He started to ask but then a bullet went through the glass wall separating Oliver’s office from the hallway.

“We need to talk. NOW!” The Joker shouted as he stormed into Oliver’s office.

A look of terror crossed the Count’s face and he took a step backwards subconsciously. Felicity didn’t blame him. When the Joker was happy, he scared her. When he was in psychotic rage, like he was right now, he scared the absolute shit out of her.

“And I thought we were becoming friends.” Harley said as she entered the room behind the Joker.

She was dressed in a red leather jacket with a black corset top and leather pants with one black leg and one red one. Her jacket had studs in the shape of a diamond on the shoulders and she wore kneepads with the same pattern on her legs. There was a pair of goggles laying on her forehead and her hair was pulled into two pigtails, the tip of one was dyed red, the other was dyed black.  She was wearing boots that looked like a cross between stilettos and biker boots along with a pair of fingerless gloves that run up to her elbows. She had two guns resting in a hip holster and a third, larger gun, was in a shoulder holster. She had black make-up around her eyes in the shape of a diamond and bright red lipstick formed a smile on her face.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Joker vs. The Count, how will it end?

The Count had been in the middle of his threatening phone call to Oliver when he heard gunshots ring out. Seconds later, the line went dead. He left Thea behind to await Moira’s verdict as he dialed Bruce Wayne’s phone number. The Count had Felicity and they needed to hurry.

“You still at the courthouse?” Wayne asked as soon as he picked up.

“Leaving now.”

“Go to the alley behind the pizza place. I’m coming to you.”

“But what about-?”

“I’ve got your hood and that stupid bow of yours with me.” He growled before hanging up.

 

Since it was long after hours, Queen Consolidated was almost completely abandoned. Neither Batman or the Arrow were spotted as they crept into the building and headed to the top floor. The elevator door opened, and they were met with several dead bodies sprawled across the floor. Some had been shot while others had pools of blood forming behind them from other wounds.

Stalking closer to Oliver’s office, they heard the sound of one person beating another person. They both turned the corner to see Harley Quinn standing next to Felicity, who was still tied to a chair, watching the Joker. The Joker was beating the Count within an inch of his life. Somehow, one of the floor-to-ceiling windows had been broken. Harley saw them arrive. She pulled out her gun and aimed it at them before yelling, “Puddin’, look who stopped by?”

“Oh well, I guess the fun’s over now.” The Joker remarked as he grabbed the Count by the neck and held him out of the window. The Joker saw Oliver standing there and spoke again. “Surprised you aren’t at the courthouse for Moira Queen’s trial. I know we’re all quaking to hear the verdict.”

Oliver nocked an arrow while Batman pulled a batarang out of his utility belt.

“Let him go.” Batman ordered.

“Don’t.” Felicity whispered. She knew how an order like that would end.

The Joker looked away from the two vigilantes and focused on the Count. “You heard him, let me go.”

“Well, if you insist.” The Joker shrugged before he let go of the Count. He had a wide, sinister smile on his face that reminded Oliver of the killers in slasher movies. The Joker watched as the man fell to his death before letting out a loud cackle. “She did try to warn you.”

“Joker-“

“Batsy. Way to ruin the fun we were having.”

While he was facing off against the Joker and Harley, Oliver made his way over to Felicity and untied her. “Are you okay?” He looked her over and saw that she didn’t seem to be hurt, but wanted to check.

“I’m fine, he- that was kinda dumb of him.” Out of the corner of her eye, Felicity saw movement. She turned to look and saw Batman jump out of the broken window. She guessed that the movement she saw were Joker and Harley making their escape. “And he’s gone.”

“What was dumb of who?”

“The Count was dumb to abduct me. or maybe he just didn’t know about the Joker being my brother. Anyway, my mom, Harley and I, he doesn’t really react well to people coming after us.” She said, gesturing to the dead bodies scattered across the floor. “You should get out of here. SCPD’s probably on their way.”

Moments after she said that, the police rushed out of the elevator. Oliver snuck out while they were temporarily frozen by the scene before them. The hallway, conference room and Oliver’s office had bodies strewn throughout and there was blood everywhere. In the middle of all this carnage, Felicity stood there, completely unharmed. Thankfully. Lance was one of the officers responding and pulled her aside.

“Your green friend do this?”

“No, the, uh, I guess the Count was working with the Joker, or maybe he was working against him, I don’t know. The Count had me, the Joker broke in and attacked. He kill- he did this,” she pointed to the carnage around her, “and threw him out the window. Then, he just left. The- he was leaving when the Arrow and Batman came. Batman went after the Joker, and the Arrow untied me.”

“Great, now we’re getting Gotham’s psychos because we didn’t have enough of our own.” He scoffed. “So, the Joker walked in, killed everybody and just left you alone?”

“I don’t think he was here for me. He was here for the Count. Or maybe Batman and the Arrow messed up his plans. I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Can I go? It’s been kinda a rough night.”

Lance nodded and offered to have someone drive her home, but she turned him down.

 

Felicity made it back to the foundry where Digg appeared to be doing a lot better. Queen Consolidated began working on a non-addictive cure to the Vertigo-laced flu shots and Felicity was about to call and tell Oliver the good news when John told her to turn on the TV. The jury had reached a verdict in the Moira Queen trial. She was found not guilty on all 504 counts, which was a shock to everyone.

Oliver seemed to still be shocked when he came to the foundry. He expected his mother to be found guilty, his mother was somewhat guilty. The verdict didn’t make any sense.

“Shouldn’t you be home with your family?” Felicity asked after he told them that.

“I- that’s my next stop. I wanted to see how you were doing first. How both of you were doing.”

“Exhausted, I think I’m gonna head home.” Diggle told them as he grabbed his jacket.

“How are you doing, Felicity?”

“I got kidnapped by a psychotic drug dealer and my brother threw him out of a window. Its not exactly the best day I’ve ever had.” She said. “But somehow, its not the worst.”

“What could be- his accident.” It would make sense that Jack’s accident would be the worst day of her life.

“Close, but not quite.” She said. Jack’s accident ranked in the top five worst days of her life, but it wasn’t the absolute worst day. She was about to elaborate when Bruce entered the room. “No luck?”

He shook his head. “He got away. They both got away.”

“Well, the Count is dead, so I’m pretty sure whatever plan they had’s been scrapped.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good thing. We don’t know what that plan was, and their partnership didn’t make sense. Drugs have never been the Joker’s style. Vertigo was a gateway to something and we’ve got no idea what that something is.” Bruce said. “Are you okay?”

“Physically, yes.” She had too many conflicting emotions right now to answer any questions about her mental state. “But I also watched nine people die in front of me and my brother seemed a little too happy that I was tied to that chair, having to watch it all happen.”

“And he didn’t say or do anything that gives you a clue as to what he’s planning?”

“Not really. When he wasn’t beating the Count, he was complaining that I ‘didn’t get the joke’ and saying that he was gonna fix that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About yesterday's news: I have no idea what to say, because the news hasn't fully processed in my brain yet.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity talks with her mother, and Jack can't help himself.

After discussing the situation with Bruce and Oliver, Felicity went home. It had been a long, exhausting day. Jack had escaped Batman, and that worried her. She might not like Bruce or ARGUS, but she wasn’t in denial any longer. Her brother was dangerous and the longer he was free, the more people ended up dead or permanently damaged. There was also one person who didn’t know Jack was out of Arkham yet, and Felicity needed to fix that. She pulled out her phone and called a familiar number.

“Hi honey. What are you doing up so late?” Donna asked when she answered the phone. “Don’t you have work in like three hours?”

“I do, but- Mom, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it? What happened? Are you okay?” Her mother asked, getting worried.

“I’m- I’m okay, I guess. It’s about Jack.”

There was silence on the other end for several minutes. “What about him?”

“He’s- he broke out of Arkham. He’s here in Starling.”

“How do you know that?”

“He- he showed up at my work in disguise. He kidnapped and almost killed a friend of mine. And tonight-“

“Really, if you’re gonna go running to Mommy to tell on me, at least wait until I’m out of earshot.” Jack said. “I save you from some Justin Bieber impersonator and this how you thank me?” Felicity nearly dropped the phone. How was Jack listening to their conversation? “Maybe I should tell Mom about your new boyfriend. Felicity and Ollie, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Or should I say boyfriends, since you and Bruce Wayne seem to have hit it off since the last time I saw you.”

“Jack, is that you?” Donna asked.

“I told you not to call me that!” He shouted.

“Sorry, hon. I just- I’m excited to talk to you.”

“No, you aren’t. Don’t lie.”

“No, I do. What- what are you up to? What are you doing?”

“Having fun. I thought I’d ask my only sister to join me, but she doesn’t wanna play with me.”

“She doesn’t want anyone to get hurt.” Donna reasoned. “And that’s not a bad thing to want. Maybe go a little easy on your sister. She’s still- the last few years have been hard on her. Hard on all of us. Will you at least try? Please?”

There was silence on the phone. “I gotta go. It was nice talking to you though, Mommy. Lissy’s got some ‘splaining to do. Oh, and Harley says hi to both of you!” He hung up seconds later.

“Felicity?” Donna asked.

“I have to- I need to go.” She said.

“Is he there? Is he in your house?”

“No, he- he must’ve put something on my phone. I’ll take care of it.” She said. “I love you, bye.”

 

Felicity didn’t get any sleep, trying instead to figure out what Jack had done to her phone and how to fix it. Soon enough, her alarm went off and it was time for her to get ready for work.

Oliver must’ve arranged for the office to get cleaned overnight, because when she came into work, there was no sign of the fighting or killing that had taken place in his office the night before. Felicity sat at her desk and tried to focus. It was difficult considering she was sitting a few feet away from where she’d watched seven people get killed.

The elevator dinged as it opened, distracting Felicity from her inner turmoil. Oliver exited the elevator with his mother and Felicity walked up to greet them. She tried to avoid mentioning Moira’s trial or prison, which failed miserably. Moira barely spared her a glance as they walked into the conference room for a board meeting. Isabel dragged Oliver out of the room to ask him what he thought he was doing bringing his mother back to QC.

“I’m just happy you pulled this at a board meeting and not a meeting with Wayne or another company we’re partnering with.” She said as she stalked back into the conference room.

The meeting ended and Isabel left following a frantic call from her assistant. From what Felicity overheard, someone had broken into Isabel’s apartment and set everything in it on fire. No sooner as she left than the elevator opened and the Joker, in his Jay Smoak disguise, stepped out. Harley exited behind him, dressed like a normal office worker. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, she was wearing glasses and was dressed in a pink button down shirt and black pencil skirt. The pair walked up to Felicity.

“You can’t be here right now.” Felicity told him through gritted teeth.. She was hoping, foolishly, that if she shut him down now, he’d get bored and leave. The last thing she needed was her brother, Harley and Moira Queen around at the same time.

“Can’t a brother visit his baby sister at work?”

“A brother, yes. My brother, not so much.”

Oliver could only see Jack’s back from where he was, so he didn’t know who she was talking to. he could tell she was uncomfortable and walked over to her. “Felicity, is everything-?” He stopped when Jack turned to face him.

“Ah, Mr. Queen. Nice to see you again.”

“Oliver, who is this?” Moira asked when she noticed Oliver’s behavior.

“Moira Queen, in person.” The Joker remarked. He held his hand out to shake hers. “I’ve just been quaking to meet you.” Everyone stilled at the wording he used.

“It’s nice to meet you.” She responded. There was something off about him, he was clearly trying to elicit a reaction, but she wasn’t going to take the bait.

“I must’ve been quite an undertaking….your trial, I mean.” He said. “I’ve wanted to ask, what was it like, prison? I’ve been, but that was a man’s prison. I’ve always wanted to know if it was any different for the ladies. Then again, I doubt you were too worried. People like you never seem to get the comeuppance that they should.””

“Why would you say something like that?” Felicity asked.

“May I ask who you are?” Moira asked.

“Right, it seems I’ve forgotten my manners. My name’s Jay Smoak. Felicity’s brother. This is my assistant Francine. I was just stopping by to tell my sister hello. I remember she was so excited about this new job.” He said. “Just between us acquitted defendants, should I be worried about leaving my baby sister with your son? He does have a bit of a reputation.”

“Jay, you need to go.” Felicity said.

“I just got here.”

“You’re making people uncomfortable and we’ve talked about you showing up unannounced. Go.” She insisted.

“C’mon Mister J.” Harley said laughing. “We came to say hi and we said hi. I think we might be embarrassing her.”

The Joker left, but not before throwing one last deranged smile at the two Queens standing near Felicity’s desk. Moira spun around to face Felicity, wanting an explanation.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“I tried to get him to leave as quickly as I could.”

“That’s not-“

“Mom, its not her fault. She can’t control who her family is or what her brother decides to do.” Oliver said. “You can’t hold her responsible for what he said to you.”

“She could at the very least-“

“I’ve spent months getting blamed for what you did. I’m not gonna turn around and do the same thing to Felicity.” He told his mother. “I need to get back to work now. I’ll see you at home.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar face returns to Starling and Felicity tells some stories about her brother, pre-Joker.

Felicity’s day was going bad enough before her brother showed up at Queen Consolidated, again, but after he made an appearance, she had a feeling it would only get worse. Moira left in a huff after Oliver refused to reprimand Felicity for her brother’s words and, while she appreciated that he stood up for her, she felt the need to apologize to Oliver.

She followed him into his office and closed the door. “I feel like the phrase ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t anywhere close to cutting it, but I am. I can’t believe he said those things to-“

“As I told my mom, I can’t hold you responsible for what your brother does.”

“Maybe not, but he still showed up and brought up the Undertaking and turned it into a joke. A joke that wasn’t funny. Then again, nothing he finds funny anymore is actually funny. In what world is joking about the deaths of over 500 people funny? Violent and painful deaths not like, cartoon deaths from Final Destination or whatever.”

“Are you okay?” Oliver asked after she finished rambling.

“I- I don’t know. Last night I was held hostage up here and now it looks like nothing actually happened, but everytime I close my eyes, I see the bodies and my brother beating the Count to death and-“

“Why don’t you take the rest of the day as a mental health day?”

“No, I- we’ve got that big presentation you’re making next week to work on.”

“That can wait. You’re more important than a presentation.” He told her.

“Isabel is looking for any excuse to-“

“I’m not worried about her either. Go home. Take some time for yourself. Please?”

“Ok.” She said. “I’m- I’ll see you later.”

 

When Felicity went to the foundry later that day, Sara Lance was already there, working out on the salmon ladder. She did a double-take upon seeing the other blonde. Sara left Starling when a member of the League of Assassins showed up and tried to force her to return. She thought staying as far away from her family as possible was the only way to keep them safe. So, why had she come back?

“Are you just gonna stand there?” Sara asked as she pulled the bar to the next level of the salmon ladder.

“I don’t- I’m wondering why you’re here, but I don’t wanna just ask what you’re doing here, because that sounds rude and like I’m angry you came back, which- which you know, I’m not. it’s just that you seemed adamant about being as far away from here as possible. Did something happen?”

“No, not yet. My- I ran into someone in Prague. He vaguely alluded to something happening to my family and I-“

“You came back to try and stop whatever’s gonna happen.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Felicity was going to ask what else the person had said, but before she could, Oliver came into the lair, along with Bruce Wayne. Sara saw him and froze. It only lasted a second, but everyone noticed it.

“Do you two know each other?”

“Not exactly.” Sara said. She was aware of who Bruce Wayne really was. She knew he’d been trained by Ra’s al Ghul personally. She’s heard some of the history that happened between Bruce and Talia from Nyssa, but that was it.

“What are you doing here? What does he want in this city?”

“Nothing. I’m not here with the League, I’m here running from them.” She argued. “I’m just here to see my family.”

“Look, I don’t know what- we have a more pressing problem right now than Sara being here.” Felicity said, cutting off the staredown that was happening.

“What more pressing problem?”

“I called my mom, to tell her about Jack, and suddenly, he was on the call too. He’s spying on me.”

“Give me your phone.” Bruce ordered. The Joker had to have put something on Felicity’s phone and he wanted to remove it or get her a new one so that her brother couldn’t spy on her anymore. Felicity gave him the phone, but she knew getting rid of the app or bug on her phone wouldn’t do any good. If it was removed, Jack would just find another way to keep tabs on her.

“Wait a second, who’s Jack?” Sara asked.

“My older brother…..but you probably know him as the Joker.”

“Your brother’s the Joker?”

“Technically yes. He’s not- the brother I grew up with isn’t the same man as the lunatic everyone’s afraid of now.” She said. “I- anyway, the only personality trait Jack and the Joker seem to have in common is how crazy overprotective they are. Hence the whole throwing-the-Count-out-of-a-window thing. And also what happened at ARGUS.”

“It can’t be that bad.”

“It’s the Joker.” Bruce pointed out. “It’s that bad.”

“Maybe, but before that, he couldn’t have been that bad.” Oliver remarked.

“It was.” Felicity answered. “You know how, and this might shock you, you know how I’m kinda a nerd? Well, being a child prodigy in Las Vegas wasn’t easy. I got picked on and bullied a lot, especially after I skipped a few grades. One time, Jack saw it and he beat the boy that was picking on me until he needed stitches. I was nine.”

“He was defending his sister.” Oliver said, not quite convinced.

“In middle school, there was this girl who used to bully me. Typical mean girl stuff. Someone left two starving, rabid rats in her in locker. When she opened it at the end of the day, they jumped out and attacked her. She wasn’t hurt, much, thankfully. Another time, there was a group of girls picking on me, someone made a bunch of bird seed fall on them, I still don’t know how he actually did that. Anyway, bird see fell on them, and then the crows attacked. It wasn’t pretty.”

“That’s pretty-“

“Then, there was the jock who probably had some bet going with his friends about sleeping with me or something, I don’t know. Anyway, he wouldn’t leave me alone, I told my mom and two days later, someone had soaked his football uniform in meat and released three feral dogs on the football field. He was okay, but his dreams of a college scholarship went bye-bye.” Felicity continued. “So yes, it was that bad.”

“Wow, and he did all of that before he went insane?” Sara asked.

“Of course he did. Jack Smoak was a child psychopath. Why didn’t your mother try to get him help?” Bruce said. Unlike Oliver and Sara, he wasn’t surprised by the stories Felicity had just shared. Having witnessed Jack’s actions as an adult, he believed what she was saying about his childhood.

“With what money? My mom was a single mom raising two kids, she couldn’t afford to feed us and send Jack to therapy. And even when things got that bad, she was worried she’d lose him completely.”

“Still, she should’ve-“

“And its not like he was the only boy to grow up with ‘some’ mental problems, right Bruce?” She said, cutting him off. Jack wasn’t perfect, but her mother wasn’t the one to blame for how he turned out.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for the Joker is stalled by another arrival in Starling, and the Joker makes a new friend. Kinda.

“Like I told Oliver when he first found out, my brother wasn’t a saint, but back before the Joker, he wasn’t a complete monster.’

The lair went quiet once Felicity had finished telling Oliver, Sara and Bruce about some of the things Jack did to ‘protect’ her when they were younger. A big part of Felicity was horrified by Jack’s actions, both then and now, but she was also grateful in a way. Jack’s actions were done out of love, or at least, his idea of love. They weren’t the best way to show love, but she wasn’t going to just reject his attempts. She was also glad his anger was directed at other and not at his family. Jack’s violent tendencies could’ve easily been taken out on her or her mother, as many psychopaths did, but instead his rage was directed at everyone else. She felt guilty for feeling so grateful, but realized there was nothing she could really do.

Oliver and Bruce went out searching for the Joker and just to patrol. Sara left to visit her family, discreetly, before trying to investigate why the League seemed to be back in town. Felicity stayed in the lair and hoped, foolishly, that tonight would be a quiet night.

Batman and the Arrow had no luck finding Jack, but they did run into some trouble while looking for him. There were some a few robberies and one report of a break-in at a sugar plant, but the suspect in the latter crime was gone by the time they arrived.

Sara’s plans went completely off the rails however. She’d stopped by Laurel’s apartment just to look in, but her sister wasn’t home. Her next stop was going to be the precinct to check in on her father, but when she arrived, she saw that she wasn’t the only person watching the building. To an untrained eye, no one would’ve noticed the person clad all in black crouched on the roof of the office building adjacent to the station. Fortunately, Sara’s eyes weren’t untrained. She was torn about what to do. She could continue on  her way and engage with the person if and when the need arose. Or, she could turn around, call Oliver for back-up and hope that would be enough. While she was debating which path to take, the decision was made for her.

“I expected I might find you here.” A very familiar voice said from behind her. It was Nyssa.

Sara spun around to face her. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to bring you home.” She said. “I knew if word of the League being here reached you, you would come back to make sure your family was safe.”

“You used my family to draw me out?”

“Our other attempts to bring you out of hiding were unsuccessful.” Nyssa said with a shrug. “This tactic was not. Its time for you to return.”

“I’m not going back.” She told her.

“I don’t want to have to do this.” The other woman responded as she drew her sword.

“You don’t. You could just walk away, tell your father I didn’t fall for the trap.”

“That’s not going to happen and you know it.”

Sara didn’t respond, but she did extend her bo staff and wait for Nyssa to attack.

 

“Um, guys?” Felicity said over the comms while Batman and the Arrow were stopping a robbery.

“I’m a little busy at the moment.” Oliver responded.

“Yeah, I get that, but Sara and someone who’s dressed an awful lot like a member of the League of Assassins are having some kind of battle royale on the roof next to the police station.” Felicity said. “And I’m pretty sure her opponent isn’t alone.”

Batman knocked his opponent down before turning to Oliver. “We’re on our way.” He hit a button on his utility belt and the Batmobile drove itself over to them and opened. They jumped in and raced to the precinct.

They arrived to see one assassin dressed in black just watching the building while a second was fighting Sara on another roof. Batman’s arrival alerted the watchman, who moved to the roof where the fight was taking place.

Bruce went to break up Sara and her opponent’s fight, leaving Oliver to deal with the second assassin. Worried about his friend, Oliver didn’t want to spend too long fighting him and knocked the assassin out with a tranq arrow. Now, they could turn their attention to the real threat and help Sara.

Nyssa swung her sword in Sara’s direction and was about to knock the staff out of her hands when Bruce threw a batarang, throwing Nyssa’s swing off-center mid-motion. She turned to see where it had come from, freezing momentarily when she saw who it was.

“What are you doing here, Detective?”

“Sight-seeing.”’ Bruce deadpanned. “You?”

“Taer al Safher swore an oath to the League. It is time for her to return to us.”

“She’s not going with you.” Oliver said.

Nyssa’s eyes flickered to Oliver before looking back at Bruce. While she was aware of who Batman was, she didn’t know him all that well. She wasn’t entirely sure what he was capable of. She could fight Sara or Oliver or Bruce independently, but fighting all three at the same time wouldn’t end well for her.

“This isn’t over.” She threatened before jumping off of the roof.

“I know we aren’t really friends, but thanks for that.” Sara said after she was gone.

“I hope you have a better plan for walking away from the League than just running and hiding.” Bruce said. “Because they won’t just stop. Especially if the look on Nyssa’s face is anything to go by.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t. Ra’s al Ghul’s doesn’t send his daughter after just any runaway, and you know it. And she definitely doesn’t look at most traitors the way she looks at you.”

“Hey! She isn’t a traitor.” Oliver cut in.

“To the League of Assassins, she is. She swore an oath and in trying to run away is betraying it.”

“I’m just trying to keep my family safe!”

“It doesn’t seem to be working out very well.”

 

Slade Wilson walked into his office. Oliver Queen had yet to find any evidence of his plans, and the former ASIS agents was more than willing to keep it that way. The longer he could work from the shadows, the better. He doubted Oliver was even aware of Shado Corp’s existence.

 He had just entered his office when he heard a whistle. “Wow, swanky office, I must say.”

He turned to see a man with chalk white skin, dressed in a purple suit sitting in his chair. The man had a wide, sick smile on his face. His feet were propped up on the desk and Slade could see his bottle of rum had been opened and the man had helped himself to some.

“How did you get past the guards?”

“Oh, you mean them?” The Joker asked, pointing to the three dead bodies stacked in the corner. “They weren’t very good at guarding.”

“What do you want?”

“I think you and I can have some fun together.” The Joker said. “And we need to talk about Oliver Queen.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Joker tries to form an alliance, while Batman and the Arrow stumble upon something they weren't aware of.

“What do you want?” Slade asked.

“I think you and I can have some fun together.” The Joker said. “And we need to talk about Oliver Queen.”

“I think I’m gonna pass on that offer.” He said. “I don’t think you and I have anything have any common interests.”

“We don’t? So, you’re saying you aren’t the person who’s been plotting against Oliver for the last few months?” The Joker said in a teasing tone.

“How do you-?”

“Your friend the Count informed me that you’d helped set him up. Before I killed him, of course. It was nothing personal, he just crossed the one line I told him not to. And I wasn’t laughing.”

“You seem the type who’s always laughing.”

“Normally, I am.” Joker said. “For once, I wasn’t.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I can handle the Arrow.”

“You might know the Arrow, but you don’t know Batman. Not like I do.” Joker told him. “Mark my words, your little plot with that serum in your blood, its not gonna work out too well now that Batman’s come to Starling.”

“What do you mean?”

“Batman’s gonna figure out what you’re doing and the lab you’ve got going to extract the serum, he’s gonna find it and destroy it.”

“Thanks for the advice, but I’ll take my chances.” Slade said,

“Suit yourself.” Joker said as he stood up and walked over the dead bodies of his guards. “You’ll change your mind soon enough. And when you do, you’ll come crawling to me for help.”

 

After Nyssa left the police station, Sara, Bruce and Oliver returned to the foundry. Sara and Batman were still clearly angry with each other. Sara thought he was being extremely and unfairly judgemental about the situation she was in. Bruce thought she was incredibly stupid to think she could just walk away from the League without any repercussions.

“So that went….not as bad as it could’ve.” Felicity said, needing to do something about the oppressive silence.

“No one died. Luckily.”

“You’re just a ray of sunshine, aren’t you?”

“Should I be happy that the League is here? They’re coming for you, Sara. Do you have any idea what they might do? How many people might die?”

“I know, why do you think I left?”

“Leaving was a smart move. Coming back here wasn’t.”

“Ok, do either of you have an idea about how to fix this, or are you just gonna yell at each other some more?” Felicity spoke up. “Because arguing isn’t gonna make Nyssa leave, nor is it gonna protect people.”

“Nyssa’s gonna retreat. She’s gotta tell her father that I’m here. That’ll buy us some time.” Bruce admitted. “Time we can use to plan. Any leads on your brother?”

“On the Joker, no. But I did track those robbers you guys were fighting earlier. The ones you caught trying to break into Kord Industries.” She said. “I tracked them back to their base or whatever.”

“Ok, did you call Lance?”

“No, because something’s going on at that base. It’s supposed to be an abandoned building. So, you’d expect minimal energy use, right?” Sara, Oliver and Bruce all nodded. “Wrong. They’re using up a lot of power.”

“Any idea what they could be up to?”

“Not exactly, but they’ve got a lot of lab equipment set up.”

“How do you know what they’ve got inside the building?” Oliver asked.

“I hacked one of their cellphones and used his camera to get a glimpse inside. Someone caught him with his phone out and destroyed it, but I know chemistry sets when I see them. Among other things, my brother was a chemistry prodigy.”

“You think your brother set up an entire lab in an abandoned building in one day?” Oliver asked.

“It wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time either.” Batman said. “What’s the location? We’ll take care of it tonight.”

Felicity gave them the address and all three masked heroes went out to deal with the lab. Batman and the Arrow destroyed the lab set-up, and Batman also stole all of the data they’d been collecting. He wasn’t sure what the Joker was up to, but he’d find out soon enough. Unbeknownst to anyone, it wasn’t Joker’s lab they’d destroyed, but Slade’s. He was trying to reverse engineer the Mirakuru from his blood.

 

Slade appeared at the destroyed lab an hour after Oliver and Bruce had left. He looked around at the destruction and demanded to know what had happened.

“I don’t know, boss. One minute we were working, and then Batman and the Arrow swooped in and destroyed everything. Batman demanded to know what we were up to. Didn’t even wait for an answer before they started smashing shit.”

“What of the Arrow?”

“He didn’t say nothing. Just broke the door down, destroyed the lab and ran off.”

“This location is compromised. I’ll provide you with another one.” Slade said before leaving. He decided he might need equipment that was harder to get. The kind he might find at Queen Consolidated’s Applied Science building. It also occurred to him that he might need more help than he initially thought.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a break-in at Queen Consolidated, Oliver and Brice both get unexpected mail and the Joker sees something he doesn't like.

Felicity came into work the next day only to learn there had been a break-in at Applied Sciences the night before. She and Oliver went to the Applied Sciences building on the other side of town to meet Lance, who was investigating the break-in, and figure out what was missing. Bruce Wayne was also at the lab when they arrived.

“Mr. Wayne, I thought we were meeting tomorrow at our downtown office to discuss-“

“We are but given some of Wayne Enterprises technology was going to be used in our collaboration, you can understand why I have some….security concerns. I’d like to know how exactly this robbery happened, so that we can make alternative arrangements or increase security if necessary.” Bruce answered. Bruce Wayne wanted to make sure his company wouldn’t be put at risk. Batman wanted to work out who had broken in, why and if there was any connection to the Joker or his scheme.

Lance was pitching a theory to Oliver about how many people were involved in the robbery when another person spoke up.

“Actually, it was only one guy.” The group turned around to see a lanky, brunette man who looked like he was 15. “Sorry, I’m late. Actually my train was late. Well, the second one. the first one, I did miss, but that was my cab driver’s fault. I’ve got this great traffic app and he thought that- but I’m here now though, so.”

“Great.” Lance said. “Who the hell are you?”

“And do your parents know you’re here?” Oliver cut in.

“I’m Barry Allen. I’m with the Central City Police Deparment, I’m with the crime scene investigation unit.” The man, Barry, said, showing them a badge. “We’re working on a case with some similar, unexplained elements in Central City, so when word of your robbery came over the wire, my captain sent me up here.”

Oliver just looked at Barry. there was something he wasn’t telling them. Bruce had the same feeling.

“And you think one guy ripped through the door like it was tin foil?”

“One very strong guy, yeah. Uhm, it takes about 1250 foot pounds of torque to break someone’s neck.” He showed them a picture of the dead guard and said the killer used only one hand. “I'm guessing you don’t know how hard it is to break someone’s neck.”

Oliver made a ‘hm’ sound, while Bruce scoffed lightly. “He’s Oliver Queen, why would he know that?”

The police were trying to figure out what had been taken, but Barry had already worked out that a centrifuge had been taken and started to explain what it was, but Felicity beat him to it.

“What did you say your name was again?”

“Barry. Allen.”

“Felicity. Smoak.”

Lance walked a few feet away from the group and Felicity followed. “You might wanna fill our mutual friend in on this.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s already on it.” She said, as she looked over and saw both Oliver and Bruce inspecting the area where the centrifuge was ripped out of the ground. Bruce soon gave an excuse about needing to be on a video conference with his company’s board and left the building.

 

They left the police to do their work and returned to Queen Consolidated’s headquarters. A receptionist was about to enter Oliver’s office when they arrived. “Oh, Mr. Queen. I was going to leave this on your desk but- this arrived for you but was delivered to the 14th floor by mistake.”

Everyone was confused. Oliver was the CEO, everyone knew he was the CEO. His name was on the building. Why would something address to the CEO of a major company be taken to the IT department by accident?

“Thank you.” Oliver said, taking the package. It was a medium sized brown box. Nothing inherently interesting or worrying. He went into his office while Felicity took a seat at her desk and started catching up on emails.

She was so engrossed in figuring out how to politely tell one of the vice presidents where he could shove his chauvinistic attitude that she didn’t notice Oliver had gotten a box cutter and opened the package. It wasn’t until Digg spoke that she looked over at them.

“What the actual fuck?” John said, getting Felicity’s attention. She saw both him and Oliver staring into the open box and ran over to see what the fuss was about. Inside the box there was a mannequin’s hand. In the plastic hand there were a few dead roses. Felicity saw it and had a sneaking suspicion.

“Was there a note or anything?”

Wordlessly, Oliver handed her a piece of cardstock. The card said ‘Roses are red, violets are blue. These roses are dead, you could be too.’ The message was written in dark red ink, it could’ve been blood, but Felicity doubted it. She was about to tell them her theory when Bruce stormed into the room, looking angry. He was holding a similar looking brown cardboard box.

“You got one too.” he said, setting it down. Felicity snuck a peek into his box before wishing she hadn’t. There was a dead bird in the box, with another piece of cardstock underneath it.

“Roses are red. Violets are blue. Your parents are dead and they never loved you.” She read off of the card. “Well, he certainly knows where your weak spots are.”

“This was the Joker?” Oliver asked. Bruce and Felicity both nodded. “I don’t understand the dead bird?”

“It’s a robin. Jason. He’s rubbing his death in my face.”

Felicity sucked in a deep breath. “Wait, if he sent this to you, that means he knows you’re Batman.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Bruce said. “But he knows if he sent this to me, it would find its way to Batman.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

Bruce left soon after. He took both packages with him, saying he wanted to run some tests on them. Everyone suspected it was a dead end, but they couldn’t risk the chance that it might lead them to Jack. It was around this time that Barry Allen arrived at QC. Felicity had told him that Oliver wanted to keep the investigation into the robbery in house and got him set up.

 

The Joker decided to pay Felicity a visit at work. He hadn’t seen her in a few days and he didn’t want his little sister to forget about him after all. He arrived on the top floor, but found she wasn’t at her desk. He asked a passerby who told him she was working on a project in one of the spare lab spaces. He stepped back into the elevator right as Oliver walked out of the other one, barely avoiding a confrontation.

Joker started whistling a happy tune as the elevator went down a few floors. Another woman was in there with him, and spent the whole time looking at him warily. He wanted to laugh, but then again, it was smart of her to be afraid. They reached the floor where Felicity was and he got out, giving the scared woman one last, big smile as he walked off.

He saw his sister standing next to a lanky brunette man who was babbling about something. Probably something scientific if the Joker had to guess. The pair were rather close to one another, nearly touching. He didn’t like that and made sure his voice was very loud when he spoke.

“Well aren’t you a smart cookie?” He asked. “Almost as smart as you Lisy.”

“Don’t call me that.” She said, crossing her arms.

“You know him?” Barry asked.

“Jack Smoak, nice to meet ya.” The Joker said, holding out a hand.

“Barry Allen.”

“What are you doing here, Jack? We talked about you coming to my work.”

“You talked, doesn’t mean I listened. Can’t a brother say ‘hi’ to his baby sister?” He only got a glare in response. “All right, fine. I’ll leave.”

He turned to go. When he reached the elevator, he turned around to see Felicity and Barry had resumed their previous position. These two were close. He needed to do something about that.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Barry try to track down their thief and run into Jack again, Oliver grows suspicious of Barry and he comes clean about what he knows about Mirakuru.

Felicity and Barry continued to work, but Jack’s visit put somewhat of a damper on the good mood they both were in. They were able to identify the substance the robber left behind on the floor as sucrose and used that information to figure out that he got away in a stolen truck from a sugar refinery. The truck was reported stolen a few days ago. They informed Oliver, who was growing more suspicious of Barry by the second.

“We don’t know who he is or why he’s here.”

“His intentions seem pretty clear to me.” Digg responded as he watched Barry bump shoulder with Felicity.

“Just…do it.” Oliver said before heading back up to his office.

 

Felicity and Barry took a break after a few hours for lunch and headed to Big Belly Burger. They had just put in their orders when someone approached the table. “We just keep runnin’ into one another, don’t we?”

Felicity got to her feet and faced her brother. “What are you still doing here? I thought you were leaving Starling?”

“I’m lookin’ for a new business partner. And I wanted to keep an eye on you.” Jack responded, before turning to Barry. “Who’s this?”

Barry was confused why Jack, who met him a few hours earlier, didn’t remember him. He was also weirded out by Jack’s permanent grin and his beady eyes that never seemed to blink. “I’m Barry. Barry Allen.”

“Really? I thought my sister was with Oliver Queen. Or is it Bruce Wayne? I lose track sometimes. So many boyfriends, so little time and all that.” He said looking at Felicity, daring her to argue.

“He’s not my boyfriend, just a friend.” She bit out.

“Where ya from Mr. Allen?”

“Central City.”

“I’ve got friends in Central City. one’s a real hot head. The other….he’s more of a cool customer.” The Joker said, trying not to laugh at his own pun. “Allen. Allen. Wasn’t that the name of some doctor who killed his wife in front of his son? I remember hearing a story about that.”

“Yeah. That was my dad, but he didn’t do it.” Barry defended.

The Joker smirked and turned towards his sister. “Dating the son of a murderer, Felicity. You like to live dangerously, don’t you?”

“His father is innocent.” Felicity repeated. “And you’ve been arrested and been to prison many times.”

“I was arrested on suspicion. Seems like every time they lock me up, they don’t have the evidence to keep me there for long.” He said in a cocky tone.

Before becoming the Joker, Jack got arrested a lot. Usually he was brought in for questioning or suspicion of a crime. Most of the time he was guilty, but the Gotham police were never able to prove anything concrete. His lawyer got him released, and Jack would walk out of the jail with a shit-eating-grin on his face.

Jack made a show of checking his watch and sighing. “I have a meeting to head to. Next time I’m in Central City, I’ll have to look you up, Mr. Allen.” He said ominously as he left the restaurant.

“I’m sorry.” Felicity said after Jack left the building. “My brother is…. he doesn’t care how uncomfortable he makes people. He still shouldn’t have mentioned your parents.”

 

Barry and Felicity went back to Queen Consolidated much less smiley than they were before. Barry was freaked out by Jack, while she was terrified about what he said regarding a new business partner. What did that mean? They went to Oliver’s office and started talking when he burst in, followed by Bruce Wayne. They revealed that Barry had lied about why he was in town and said there was no similar case in Central City. The CSI left, while Felicity glared at Oliver and Bruce.

“He did lie about who he was.”

“And what do we do every day?” She countered as she left the office.

“That might not have been the smartest move.” Wayne said.

“You were the one who said we should confront him.”

“I’m not the one with feelings for Ms. Smoak.” Bruce pointed out before heading towards the door. He was stopped in his tracks when Felicity came storming back in.

“I’m still pissed. At both you, because you didn’t have to do that here and you could’ve handled it better.” She said, glaring at the two men.

“How do we know he-.”

“But my brother is still in Starling. Barry and I ran into him. He said something about finding a new business partner.” She spun around and left. She might be angry, but they needed to know what Jack was up to. She told them what happened, her job was done, and now she wanted to get away from both of them.

 

Joker was chuckling as he left Felicity and her jumpy friend behind in Big Belly Burger. It was so easy to wind Felicity up these days. Freaking her friends out was an added bonus. He was heading back to his hideout when his phone rang.

“Told you you’d come crawling to me for help.” He said upon answering.

“I don’t crawl.” Slade growled. “Batman, how do I take care of him?”

“Now, now. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” He said in a sing-song voice. “If killing Batman were easy, anyone could do it.”

Slade sighed and the Joker could practically hear him regret every decision he ever made. “What are you suggesting then?”

“Well, I am looking for a new business partner…”

 

The thief who stole the centrifuge broke into a blood bank that night. Felicity sent Oliver and Bruce to stop him, but they were overpowered due to the thief having enhanced strength. They retreated back to the foundry. As soon as they got there, Bruce turned to Oliver.

“What aren’t you telling us?”

“Why do you think he’s hiding something?” Felicity asked.

“The look on his face when he saw what the thief could do. Answer the question.”

“That kind of strength, I’ve seen it before on Lian Yu.” Oliver admitted. “My second year, a man named Ivo showed up looking for a serum he called Mirakuru.”

“Why didn’t you say anything when Applied Sciences got broken into?”

“Because I destroyed the entire supply and I burned the bodies.” He said. “Whoever this guy is, however he got the serum, he needs the serum, a lot of blood and a strong sedative.” He handed her one of the arrows he’d fired at the thief.

“Ok, I’ll start-.”

“You don’t need to go looking.” Bruce said. “There’s only one place this man’s gonna be able to get any sedative in that quantity. ARGUS. They have an emergency supply bunker not far from here.”

Oliver grabbed his quiver. “Let’s go then.”

“There’s a lead on the Joker I need to track down. I’ll meet you there.”

The archer nodded in understanding, but Felicity spoke up. “Oliver, you can’t go alone. This guy’s muscle density is almost as thick as concrete. These arrows might cut him, but they won’t stop him.”

“I’ve beaten someone with the serum before.”

“What if you can’t this time?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a head's up, there won't be a chapter next week due to boring, real life stuff.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity reveals an important secret to Barry and Oliver and Bruce try to stop Cyrus Gold.

Oliver left to foundry to fight the thief with enhanced strength who Bruce claimed was going to break into the ARGUS supply bunker. Felicity tried to talk him into waiting for Bruce to be done looking for the Joker, but the archer refused. If he waited for back-up, they might be too late to stop the theft.

Felicity and John listened nervously on the comms as Oliver confronted the man. He revealed that he was only a follower of someone he called his “brother” who saved him with some kind of serum. When Felicity heard that there might be more than one person robbing ARGUS, she insisted that they head to the bunker to help Oliver. They ran into the building to find the inside a mess. Oliver was trapped underneath some rubble with two syringes sticking out of his leg.

Felicity’s first idea was to use one of the computers to see what he was injected with, but she couldn’t break the encryption fast enough. “I have no idea what he was injected with.”

“All right, then we have no choice.” John said, taking out his phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling 911.”

“Wait! How are we supposed to explain this? Everyone’s gonna find out Oliver is the vigilante.” She reminded him.

“Well it won’t matter if he’s dead.” He said, right as Felicity took his phone away. “We can’t save him Felicity.”

 “I know, you’re right! We can’t. But I know someone who might be able to.”

 

Barry walked away from the ticket counter after hearing he’d missed the last train to Central City. The next one wouldn’t be until the morning. He sat down on a bench and tried to relax. His trip to Starling might get him in trouble, but he couldn’t control the train schedule. There was nothing he could do in this situation. Barry closed his eyes and felt something hit him in the neck a few seconds later. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt heavy all of a sudden.

 

Barry came to in a dark room. He opened one eye and looked around a little bit. It looked like he was in a basement or some underground storage area of some kind. He could hear yelling.

“Well, maybe if you’d been there, instead off chasing rumors, this wouldn’t have happened and we wouldn’t have had to resort to this.” A woman’s voice, which sounded familiar was yelling.

“He’s a big boy. He knew the risks. It was a credible lead.” A growly male voice defended.

“Really? Are you any closer to finding the Joker? ‘Cause it doesn’t look like it.”

“Master Bruce, Miss Felicity, this isn’t the best use of our time at the moment.” A British male voice said.

Barry knew it was a matter of time before someone realized he was awake. He sat up and saw the Arrow lying on a table, unconscious. His hood was down and Barry could see his face.

“Oliver Queen?” He asked, getting the attention of others in the room.

He saw Mr. Diggle and Bruce Wayne standing next to Oliver’s body, along with an older white gentleman in a suit. Barry barely had time to form questions before Felicity’s face filled his vision.

“I need your help. Please, save him.” She begged Barry as she pointed to Oliver.

He stood up and walked over to Oliver. “I- I’m not a doctor. I normally only work on dead bodies.”

“Alfred and Mr. Diggle have medical training from the army.” Bruce said gesturing to his butler and John, “we just need someone to figure out what’s in his system. Focus!”

Oliver’s heart rate started to go crazy. “Ok, I can think of four possible diagnoses.” He shined a light into Oliver’s eye. “Make that three.” He leaned over.  “Two.” He grabbed a syringe. “Start chest compressions.” Barry drew some blood and knew what was happening. “He’s suffering from intravenous coagulation. His blood is unnaturally clotting.”

“Do we have anything for that?” Felicity asked John. “Do you Alfred?” Both shook their heads.

Barry saw a box of rat poison and grabbed it. He assured them that, with the right amount, the anti-coagulants in the rat poison would thin Oliver’s blood enough for it to start pumping normally again. John and Bruce both expressed concern that the substance could kill him, but Felicity insisted he continue. Barry injected Oliver with the substance and Oliver’s pulse calmed down. He was safe, for now.

About an hour later, while Barry was helping clean up the mess, Oliver woke up and immediately grabbed Barry by the throat. Luckily, Digg and Bruce noticed and pulled him off of the scientist. They explained that Oliver was dying and they went to Barry for help.

“You told him who I am.”

“Yeah, I did.” Felicity admitted.

“That’s not your secret to tell. I decide who finds out my identity.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Queen, you were unconscious and dying, which left Ms. Smoak with very few options.” Alfred spoke up. “You may not remember me, Alfred Pennyworth.”

“You invited your butler?” He asked Bruce.

“I have plenty of experience tending to Batman’s wounds, I didn’t expect the Arrow’s to be any different. I have no intention of going to the police, as you clearly fear, nor does Mr. Allen.”

Oliver didn’t respond to that, so he just glared. “Did your lead pan out?”

“No, it didn’t. which is exactly what I told him would happen.” Felicity said. “Because he doesn’t know him as well as he thinks he does. It’s never that easy.”

“I’ve been going up against him for years.”  Bruce said.

“And I’ve known him my whole life. He might claim to be an agent of chaos, but my brother always has a plan.”

“You- your brother?” Barry stuttered. “Batman and the Arrow are hunting for your brother?”

“Yes. My brother Jack, most people know him as the Joker.” She explained. Barry was speechless and Oliver stormed out, incredibly pissed off by the turn of events.

“Should we have told him I might be able to get a fingerprint from his neck?” Barry asked.

“No. Just- run the search and let him calm down.” John told him.

 

Oliver went to the mansion to find that Roy was hidden in Thea’s room, with an arrow in his leg. He’d shot Roy the night before to keep him away from the Mirakuru investigation, but clearly he didn’t get the message. He called John to help him remove the arrow and patch Roy up. On his way out of Thea’s room, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Shado standing there. He immediately jumped on his bike and headed back to Verdant. What had Barry given him and why was it making him see things?

 

Barry agreed to run some tests and told Oliver, Bruce and Digg that he was able to match the thief’s fingerprints to someone named Cyrus Gold. Felicity was even able to provide an address. They headed out of the lair, despite Felicity’s concerns about Oliver’s health at the moment. John was injured slightly by Gold, but Bruce and Oliver continued on and found Roy strapped to a chair, seizing from the Mirakuru he’d been injected with. While Bruce tried to revive Roy, Oliver fought Gold. 

He wasn’t faring very well at first, but then he had a vision of Tommy, who told him to keep fighting. His hallucination gave him a second wind, which allowed Oliver to knock Gold back into a wall. He was about to regain his footing, so Oliver shot an arrow at the stolen centrifuge next to him, which destroyed the serum and spilled chemicals all over Gold’s face, killing him.

“Well, that’s just no fun.” Someone said from behind Oliver. The archer spun around and saw that it was the Joker.

“You were behind this?” He growled.

“Not exactly. I just….made a new friend. He doesn’t like you very much.” The Joker teased. Oliver raised his bow. “Uh, uh, uh. Batsy’s not a big fan of killing. And you wouldn’t wanna make Felicity sad, would you?”

“I can shoot you without killing you.”

“You could, but your little friend over there isn’t lookin’ too hot.” He said, pointing to Roy. Bruce managed to restart Roy’s heart, but his pulse was weak. They needed to get him medical help, fast. “Save the boy or stop me. Decisions are tough, aren’t they? Then again, saving people isn’t you or Batsy’s forte, especially when it comes to Boy Wonders.” He sauntered away as Oliver went over to help Bruce.

“You killed him.” Bruce said in a disapproving tone.

“He was trying to kill me, and you, and Roy. I didn’t have much of a choice.” Oliver defended.

They went to the foundry and stabilized Roy before taking him to the mansion. Thankfully, he remained unconscious the entire time. Barry had gotten a train home, so Oliver didn’t get a chance to apologize or thank him. Bruce and Oliver also had to tell Felicity that the Joker was working with whoever was behind the Mirakuru plot.

 

The Joker strolled down the hallway of Slade’s “office”. Even though the Australian’s initial plan had failed, the Joker was still in a fantastic mood. He’d gotten to play quite the prank on both the Arrow and Batman, and he lived for pranks. He walked into the office right as Slade finished lecturing a man about following his orders.

“Ooh, somebody’s in trouble.” Joker remarked in a sing-song voice.

“What is he doing here?” Blood asked Slade.

“I’ve decided to….team up with him.” Slade answered. “Sebastian Blood, the Joker. Joker, Sebastian Blood.” He introduced them before another person entered the room. “And this is Isabel.”

The Joker spun around. “Well, this is certainly a surprise.”

“Do I know you?” Isabel asked him. Something about the Joker was familiar to her.

“Not exactly.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All it takes is one bad day...

As soon as the Joker learned Isabel, Felicity’s mean boss, was working for Slade, an idea started to hatch in his brain. A terrible, wonderful idea. He knew Isabel’s secret, something that he could definitely use to his advantage. Isabel was looking at him warily as a wide grin split across his face.

“Why is he working with us again?” She asked Slade.

“Because you might know the Arrow, but Batsy’s another matter altogether. Besides, this city is way too serious. Don’t you wanna have a little fun?” He said. Blood looked conflicted, Isabel was clearly torn between worry and annoyance and Slade was just outright frustrated with the Joker. “Not tonight? Fine. Toodles.” He waved.

 

He left Slade’s hideout and headed to Felicity’s apartment. He wanted to see what she thought of the joke he’d helped play on Batman and the Arrow. He thought it was hilarious and wanted to know what she thought. He broke in and waited for her to come home.

Sitting in the darkness, he heard keys jingle outside and the door unlock. Felicity walked inside and froze when she saw two beady red eyes looking out at her from the darkness.

“You really should get that lock fixed. It’s almost too easy to break in here.” He said.

“Whatever you want, I’m not in the mood right now.” She said, not in the mood to deal with him right now.

“What’s got your panties all in a twist? Did Batsy and Robin Hood tell on me? Tattling isn’t very nice.”

“Yes, they told me.” She answered.

“And you’re surprised? Disappointed? I thought that ship sailed away and caught fire years ago.”

“No, I’m not. It makes sense, as much as I wish it didn’t.” She told him. “I’ve had a rough night. Can you just go?”

“What made it so rough? I didn’t even hurt your two new besties.”

“Barry was struck by lightning.” She told him.

Joker burst out laughing. Felicity stood there as he laughed hysterically at the news and waited for his laughter to subside.  “Wow, miracles do happen. Now, if only Ollie could just drown at sea and Brucie could get shot during a mugging. Then, I might really believe in a higher power. Heh heh heh.”

Felicity had never really felt anger towards her brother. She got sad for him. She felt bad that he was sick mentally, but she hadn’t ever gotten angry at what the Joker did. it wasn’t his fault he was so sick. Until now, that is. To hear him so giddy about Barry and joke about Oliver and Bruce made something in her snap. “Yeah, I’m sure your accident at the Ace Chemical Plant was really funny to someone too.” The grin fell off his face. He flipped the table next to him over. He stood up, stormed over to Felicity and backed her into a wall.

“THAT’S. NOT. FUNNY!” He hissed before walking out. 

* * *

 

**Gotham 2007**

This had been supposed to be easy, Jack thought as he ran through the Ace Chemical Plant. Get in, get the money and get out.

What he and his gang hadn't counted on was being ambushed by the police and some Bat thing.  The gang opened fire on the police. Jack made a hasty escape and turned up several of the plant's machines to dangerous levels to try and create enough chaos to escape, and inadvertently caused several of the vats to fill up with an uncontrolled mixture of hazardous chemicals. Now, the plant was thick with toxic chemical fumes and the machines were all sparking and in danger of overloading. Jack could still hear the sound of gunshots from the vicious gunfight happening between the GCPD and his gang.

Good, he thought that would keep the police and that “thing” busy long enough for him to get away. He made it up to the final catwalk above a large vat of chemicals, just beyond which was the exit door. Below him, the machinery had begun to overload and explode. Jack made his way to the exit when he sensed something behind him. He turned suddenly gun drawn the Bat thing wings spread out wide. It knocked the gun out of Jack's hand and grabbed him by the shirt.

“Jesus!” exclaimed Jack in shock. He then regained his composure and kicked it with both legs causing it to drop him. Jack got a good look at the Bat, he then pulled out a knife. “nice outfit.” He sneered before lunging at the Bat with his knife. He noticed his gun on the ground and threw his knife at the Bat, grabbing his gun. Jack fired, the Bat threw a Batarang at Jack.

The bullet hit some machinery, causing sparks and steam to fly everywhere. The Batarang caught Jack across the face, causing him to drop his gun. Clutching his face, he began howling in agony, which caused him to tumble over the side. The Bat rushed forward to grab Jack, trying to hold onto him but he slid free. He was falling, falling, falling.

 

Jack’s eyes opened. They stung as the lights hit them. He blinked back tears of pain, realising then that the pain was all over.

For a minute, he became lost in thought. What was it, the thing that fought him? He felt an urgent need to get out of this place, wherever it was. As he tried to rise, he realised he was strapped down. He struggled for a bit against the restraints in an effort to break free, letting out an animalistic growl in frustration. The noise must have alerted some staff nearby, because as he calmed down, he became aware of some people nearby.

“Doctor, he's coming around." said a nurse.

The doctor came over to him and stood by the bed "You’re gonna be al-" began the doctor.

All at once his questions flooded out. “Where am I? What Happened?” He roared them all.

The doctor put his hand out in a calming gesture. "You’re in Gotham General. There was a very serious accident.” he said quietly.

Jack thought about that for a moment. He didn’t say anything but it had not been an accident.

"You are lucky to be alive after what happened. You have deep lacerations on the sides of your face and were bleeding quite badly.” The doctor paused. “We had to operate"

He remembered some of it now. Someone had found him crawling up the muddy bank of the river he'd been washed out into. Battered and bloody, nearly drowned and barely alive. Someone had spotted him and lead some paramedics to him. They had gotten him to an ambulance which had then taken him to Gotham General. The rest was a blur and a patchwork of pain and images. 

What had happened? The vat he'd been dropped in by that thing, that Bat thing, a Bat man. The Batman did this to him. It was all his fault. His confusion turned to rage.

The rage gave him the power to break free of the restraints. The very movement was agony for him, but he persisted. He quickly unbuckled himself from the bed. The staff were standing back horrified, afraid, wondering should they run or stay. The pain was such that when he pulled the intravenous drip from his arm, he did not feel it.

He started to remove the bandages from his face. He started slowly, then sped up, feverishly removing them all. It felt good to not have them on his face. He looked around the room. A loud crash came from behind him and he turned to face it. The young nurse had a horrified look on her face and was backing out of the room. Jack turned to the doctor.

The doctor turned pale. “Mirror.” Jack whispered.  The doctor didn’t move. "Mirror! Now!” The doctor started at the violence of the request.

He nodded his head and reached behind him, producing a hand mirror. He stepped backward as he handed Jack the mirror. Jack looked at the reflection, tears formed in his eyes. His hands and then his whole body shook. Whether it was from rage, sorrow or something else, no one could tell.

“There is a lot of nerve damage in your face.” the doctor started to say, but was cut off by the sound of Jack destroying a nearby table by smashing the mirror on it. Jack collapsed, sitting onto the bed, tears streaming down his face. All the pain, physical, emotional, all of it, welled up inside him and all he could do was grin and bear it.

He turned on the bed and looked out the window. Suddenly he rose up and walked to the window, pushing furniture and everything else out of the way. He opened the window fully and stared up at the full moon. The room became silent. Only the sounds of the street and Gotham becoming a background to the silence.

A sound started from Jack. It was a low animalistic sound. The doctor and nurse looked at each other uncertainly. The sound, it was laughter. It became more and more hysterical by the second.

In between laughs, Jack began to point out the window.

“Can’t you see? There?” He said in between laughs. “Right there! On the moon. A bunny in the moon” As he said each sentence, he punctuated it with laughter.

The medical team slowly started backing out of the room, putting as much distance as they could between them and the increasingly maniacal laughter.

“It’s so funny I am splitting my sides with laughter.” Jack said, pointing at his face. “It’s the funniest thing in the whole wide world.” he finished with a loud raucous bout of hysterical laughter.

The medical team fled, leaving Jack rolling around with laughter on the floor. 

 

Much later, it had quietened down. Jack found his clothes in a locker and was fixing his bow tie. His hand went into his pocket and found a playing card. He looked at it, the back was towards him and placed it on the window sill.

A nurse came into the room.

“Sir! Are you all right? Mister?” She asked nervously.

“You see that card? What does it say?” He asked. His back was to the nurse as he put on his fedora hat with a wide, floppy brim. The nurse saw the card on the window sill, it was still face down.

Slowly she turned it over. “What. Does. It. Say?!” Jack asked sharply.

“It’s a wildcard. The joker.” She answered.

Jack smirked and turned around, the nurse's eyes widened in horror at what she saw.

“Jack is dead my dear. I’m the Joker and as you can see I’m a lot happier.” He said with a grin.

The Joker's grin widened at the nurse's horror. He would make this miserable city smile and laugh. Laugh to death in fact. And why stop at just a city? Why not the whole wide blooming world? As for the Batman he'd have to think of a way to thank him for this new lease on life he'd given Joker. Not quickly of course. Oh no, agonisingly slow, and painful. He'd make the Batman lose everything. But for now, he was free to do anything and he wanted to make sure that this Batman wished he had killed him when he had the chance.

They were going to have many merry games, Joker and Batman. First, however, he needed some new clothes. The fedora looked good on him, but he wasn’t sure the dapper, black tuxedo look was his style any more. Black and white were boring colour options. He needed colours that screamed ‘Joker’ loud and clear. He needed to look the part, didn’t he?

As Jack died and the Joker was born, Felicity and Donna had received the news that Jack had been injured during a robbery. He’d been taken down by the Batman, but the police weren’t able to tell them where Jack was or if he was even still alive. 

* * *

 

**Starling City-Present**

After the Joker stormed out of her apartment, Felicity grabbed her phone with shaking fingers and made a call to Oliver. She didn’t elaborate but asked him to please come to her apartment. He told her he’d be right there, and within ten minutes, there was an incessant knocking at the door. Oliver came in, followed by Bruce.

“What happened?”

“He was here. The Joker was here when I got back.” She said. “He made a bunch of digs at you, and Bruce and Barry and I- I kinda lost it. I asked if he thought his accident was funny. Which touched a nerve.”

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“No, he’s just angry. But I’m worried he’ll use his bad mood to do something horrible.” She admitted. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“How did you bring up what happened at the plant?” Bruce asked.

“I asked him if he thought you letting him fall into that vat of chemicals was funny.”

“That’s not what happened. I didn’t let him fall in,” Bruce said with a haunted look on his face. “I tried to pull him up, but his arm slipped out of my grasp. I tried to save him.” 


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Joker pays someone a visit.

“How did you bring up what happened at the plant?” Bruce asked Felicity.

“I asked him if he thought you letting him fall into that vat of chemicals was funny.”

“That’s not what happened. I didn’t let him fall in,” Bruce said with a haunted look on his face. “I tried to pull him up, but his arm slipped out of my grasp. I tried to save him.”

“What?”

“We were fighting on a catwalk above several vats of chemicals. He had a gun, so I threw a Batarang at him. It hit him across the face, which made him drop the gun, but he started clutching where it’d hit him. He tumbled over one of the guardrails. I ran over to him, trying to pull him back up onto the walkway, but his arm slipped out of my grasp and he fell into one of the vats of chemicals.” Bruce explained. “I did everything I could to help him.”

“I- I didn’t- if that’s what happened, if you really tried to help him, why did you let me hate you all these years?”

“Because you had every right to. What happened that night is the biggest regret I’ve ever had. The Joker was created and now dozens of people are dead as a result. I let you hate me, because I hate myself for what happened.”

 

The following day, Felicity went into the office as usual. A lot of the staff were out because it was so close to the holidays, but most employees were working. Isabel had stormed into Oliver’s office around 10 and, while she couldn’t hear the conversation, she was sure the brunette was hurling insults at Oliver once again. It was very apparent from the beginning that Isabel thought Oliver was completely clueless and didn’t deserve to be CEO. A courier dropped off some forms at Felicity’s desk, but once she looked at them, she saw that they should’ve gone to a department on another floor. Not wanting to call the messenger back, and seeing Oliver was occupied, she grabbed the forms and went downstairs to deliver them.

When she returned from her errand, she saw a man standing in front of her desk. He was leaning over it, looking through some of papers she had sitting out. He was clearly snooping and looking for something, and she regretted not putting everything away before her short trip downstairs. As she moved closer, she could see it was the Joker, dressed in his Jay Smoak disguise. She nearly backed away and called security, but he must’ve heard her steps and turned around.

“Leaving so soon?” He asked. “Aren’t the holidays supposed to be about connecting with family?”

“You hate the holidays.” She reminded him.

“I see you’re still upset about the last Christmas present I got you.” He teased.

“One, you sent me a dead rat. Two, I don’t celebrate Christmas and you know that.” Felicity reminded him. She never could tell if he honestly didn’t remember that she was Jewish or if he remembered but just liked getting a rise out of her. Either way, she always shut that conversation down.

“Oh, now I see why she wasn’t responding. She’s too busy chatting away with her friend.” Isabel said from the doorway. “You do remember you’re at work, Ms. Smoak?”

“Isabel, Ms. Smoak is excellent at her job. She went downstairs to deliver some paperwork and returned less than two minutes ago.” Oliver said sternly. “And we’ve talked about your behavior towards my employees.”

“Lovely to see you again, Ms. Rochev.” The Joker remarked.

Isabel, who hadn’t seen his face, stilled. She remembered Jay Smoak and every time she thought about their first encounter, she was filled with anger. He called her a coffee girl and someone who slept her way to the top. She threw one last glare at both Oliver and Felicity before trying to stalk away from the Joker. When she was a few feet away, she noticed he’d followed after her.

“Do say hello to Mr. Wilson for me.” He said, with a wide smile. “And tell him I’ve got a few ideas for that project of his.” The elevator doors started to close.

Isabel’s eyes widened as the meaning of his words hit her. Jay Smoak was the Joker. They were working with Felicity’s brother. More importantly, Felicity’s brother knew her secret. He knew she was Slade’s partner. What would he do with that information?

Before the doors closed completely, he stuck his hand in the way, stopping them. “Oh, and have you considered being a little nicer to people? You never know what connections a person might have.” He said, threateningly, before letting the doors close.

Oliver stood next to Felicity’s desk, watching the Joker’s behavior. She’d already sent Bruce a message telling him the Joker was at QC, but he didn’t want to leave her alone with her brother so close. The Joker said a few things to Isabel that they couldn’t hear before turning back to face Felicity.

“Bye Lissy!” He shouted before getting into a different elevator.

“Call security.” Oliver told her.

“I did.” She knew it wouldn’t matter. If her brother wanted to get away, he’d get away.

“Why was he here?”

“He started feeding me some story about the holidays being about reconnecting. I think he came here to freak me out. Make me feel uncomfortable.”

 

The Joker left QC and went back to the hideout he was sharing with Harley and a few of his henchmen. He was whistling a happy tune as he entered the building. His minions all stilled, wondering what he’d do, while Harley stood up and ran over to him.

“You’re finally back, Puddin’!” She exclaimed.

“Back and with a plan. What do ya say we have a little fun tonight?” He asked her.

“What kinda fun?”


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Bruce find themselves in a precarious situation and are aided by someone unexpected.

Bruce rushed to Queen Consolidated when he heard the Joker was there. If he could catch the Joker now and send him back to Arkham, he’d save hundreds if not thousands of lives. To his disappointment, but not his surprise, Joker was already gone when he arrived.

“I need you to tell me everything that happened.” He said to Felicity.

“I went downstairs to deliver some paperwork while Isabel was screaming at Oliver. I came back upstairs and found Jack leaning over my desk, going through my things. He was toying with me when Isabel stormed out of Oliver’s office and started lecturing me. He said he was happy to see her, and she went pale and walked off. He followed after her, and I don’t know what he said to her, but she sprinted into that elevator.” She explained. “Then, he just left.”

“He just left?”

“Yeah. Probably plotting some horrible thing to do to Isabel.”

“Or for us.” Oliver interjected. “He scared Isabel off, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t here to rub it in that we couldn’t stop him.”

“We need to focus on that. The Mirakuru, whoever’s behind it, we can solve that mystery a lot easier if we take him off the board.” Bruce said.

“You know its not gonna be that easy.” Felicity remarked. The workday went by very slowly, but she passed the time by using her downtime to search for possible leads on the Joker or where his hideout was located.

When she arrived at the Arrow cave that night, she had a pretty good lead on where to find him, even if she didn’t think it would be so easy to find him.

“What did you find?”

“I’m pretty sure he’s using an empty warehouse in the Glades as a hideout. It’s right on the edge of town, people have noticed suspicious activity and its using a lot of power.

“We need to act, fast. We need to get him, and Harley, back to Arkham before he can kill anyone else.” Bruce insisted. “What’s the address?”

Felicity gave it to him, and soon enough, the Arrow and Batman left to thwart the Joker. Felicity felt a sense of foreboding come over her when they left. She had a feeling this situation was at most a distraction and at worst a trap. She pulled out her phone and made a call.

 

Oliver ran into the warehouse while Bruce entered through a window on the second floor that was left unlocked. Bruce closed the window behind him and went to join Oliver in searching the building. As soon as he found Oliver, he saw that there was a dummy tied to a chair in the middle of the room. It was dressed similar to Robin and had a piece of paper pinned to it. The paper was a note that read ‘why didn’t anyone save me?”

“This is-.”

“A trap.” Oliver completed.

They both heard the sound of a door slamming and locking behind them as soon as they said that.

“Well, well, well. Party crashers. What do we do to party crashers again, Poo?” The Joker asked over a voice speaking.

“Blow them up of course!” Harley responded with a giggle.

Oliver and Bruce ran over to the closest door. Bruce tried to break the door down and Oliver got ready to fire an explosive arrow at it.

“Good luck breaking down that door, boys. It’s reinforced steel.” The Joker taunted. “The timer’s set for ten minutes. The same amount of time I gave Batsy here to save the Boy Blunder. Heh heh heh.”

“How much explosive power is in those arrows?” Bruce asked him.

“A few sticks of dynamite.”

“So not enough to take down a steel door.”

“I wasn’t expecting to walk into a death trap, so I didn’t pack that much firepower.” He said. “There has to be another way out of here.”

Before Bruce could mention the window he’d entered through, a loud, ear-piercing sound started to come from upstairs. A blonde figure in all black leather descended from the second floor.

“Hi boys.” Sara said with a smirk. “Need a hand?”

“How did-?” No one had seen Sara since her confrontation with Nyssa weeks ago. Oliver didn't even know that she was still in Starling.

“Felicity gave me a call.”

“Hey, who invited you?!” The Joker said over the intercom. “Get lost. This is boys only. No girls allowed!”

As he said that, two automated guns dropped out of the ceiling. They activated and started shooting in Sara’s direction. She heard up her sonic device and turned up it’s power level. The concussive sound made it harder for the guns to focus in on her, giving Oliver and Bruce an opening to each destroy one.

“Let’s get out of here.” She said to them. They left through the window Sara had broken in through and once they were outside, the three of them were able to disarm all of the explosives.

 

After the attempt to kill Batman and the Arrow failed, the Joker went back to his hideout. He walked inside to find Slade there, waiting. He looked furious and a few of Joker’s goons looked nervous. That simply wouldn’t do. His goons should be scared of him, not some pirate knock-off.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Slade shouted. “Trying to kill the Arrow. I’m not done with him yet.”

“I wasn’t trying to kill him. It was just some fun and I was bored.” He said, brushing the situation off. “And you should be thanking me. Thanks to my little joke, now we have new info about Batman and Arrow. They have a new ally.”

“Who?”

“Some meddling blonde leather-clad bimbo.” He answered. “Totally ruined the joke.”

Slade seemed to realize the Joker didn’t care about how angry he was for trying to kill Oliver. Instead, he decided to switch tactics. “Isabel told me something quite interesting. You went to Queen Consolidated and threatened her.”

“I was looking out for my baby sister. Izzy might be working with us, but if she isn’t nicer to my sister soon, she might have a little…accident.” The Joker told Slade. His voice turned from joking to dead serious, with a sinister edge to it. “Same warning I’m givin’ you. Whatever your brilliant plan is, my sister stays out of it.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara's past comes back to haunt her, and the Joker introduces Harley to someone.

Sara followed Bruce and Oliver back to the Arrowcave. They might’ve escaped the Joker’s trap, but that didn’t mean they were any closer to stopping him, or even learning what his plan was. On top of that, they both felt somewhat stupid for walking directly into his trap, especially Bruce.

“It’s a good thing I was in town, huh?” Sara said.

“Good for us, but bad for Starling.” Bruce told her. “Do you really think Ra’s al Ghul won’t follow you here?”

“I just saved your life. And Ollie’s.” She pointed out as she walked towards the side entrance of Verdant.

“I had the situation completely under control.” Bruce insisted. “But you’re back, and you’re an idiot if you think Ra’s and the League won’t find out soon enough. You should’ve run as far away from this city as you could so that no one, not Felicity, not Ra’s, no one could find you.”

“I’m tired of running. I’m tired of looking over my shoulder, waiting to die.” She said. “My dad is the only person other than Oliver who even knows I’m alive. You have no idea how hard that is.” By now, they were inside the foundry.

“Okay, how about we pump the brakes on whatever angst train you three are on.” Felicity suggested. “What exactly happened?”

“It was a trap. He tried to blow us up.”

“Really? That seems very….uncharacteristic of him.”

“A psychopath wanting to kill people is uncharacteristic?”

“If it’s the Joker and he’s trying to kill Batman, yeah. He wants to destroy him, wants to make him suffer in new and exciting ways. He can’t really do that if he kills Batman. The dead don’t suffer.”

“If that’s the case, why set a trap in the first place?” Oliver asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t know why he does what he does. Maybe he wants you to know he’s onto us. Maybe he was hoping only one of you would make it. I can’t tell you what his logic is because he doesn’t use logic. There’s no method behind his madness.” She said. She was about to say something else, but her phone started going off. “Laurel’s in the hospital. She OD’d.”

“What?” Oliver and Sara both asked. Oliver then continued. “I thought- I knew she was drinking but-.”

“I need to go see my dad.” She said. “I need to- he shouldn’t find out I’m here when the League goes after him.”

 

When Sara returned a few hours later, upset, Felicity informed her, Bruce and Oliver that Laurel didn’t OD. The hospital ran a blood test and found a rare snake venom in her system. She’d been poisoned by Nyssa in order to draw Sara back to Starling.

“I told you that you shouldn’t have come back.” Bruce said unhelpfully.

“Are you gonna offer up any solutions or do you just wanna sit there saying ‘I told you so’?” Sara asked him. “You’re the one who managed to fight Ra’s to a standstill after all.”

“That depends. What are you willing to risk to be free?” He asked. When Ra’s tried to make Bruce his heir, he’d told him he’d rather die. He proved that he was willing to die if the alternative was joining the League of Assassins. Sara needed to prove the same.

 

The situation quickly went from bad to worse. Dinah Lance had been watching over Laurel at the hospital. She left the room to grab a cup of coffee when someone came up behind her and knocked her out. A few minutes later, Sara got a phone call. If she didn’t surrender to Nyssa, she’d kill her mother. Felicity got to work trying to figure out where Dr. Lance was being held, while the others tried to figure out a way for Sara to live, save her family and not return to the League. Nyssa’s time limit reached its end and Sara stormed out of the foundry in anger. It was only after she left that Oliver realized she’d taken the vial of snake venom with her. He and Bruce left to stop Sara from starting a war.

 

“You took the poison.” Nyssa said in realization as Sara fell to her knees. “No.”

“I can’t go back.” She said. “I can’t take the killing anymore. It needs to end.”

Nyssa stood up and turned away from Sara. “If you want to be with your family so badly, they can join you in eternity.” She said as she drew her sword.

“You get the hell away from my daughter!” Lance said.

Nyssa moved to attack, but a batarang knocked the sword out of her hands. She turned to see Batman standing there. Oliver rushed over to Sara, hoping he wasn’t too late and the herbs from Lian Yu would save her.

“This isn’t your fight, detective.” Nyssa spat the last word out.

“You’re trying to kill-.”

“She wasn’t talking to you, Mr. Lance.” Bruce said. “And yes, it is.”

Oliver could feel Sara’s pulse. It was very weak, but it was there, she was still alive. She just needed to stay that way long enough for an ambulance to arrive. He yelled for Lance to stay with Sara while he went to help Bruce. Batman could certainly hold his own against Nyssa, but making sure she didn’t harm anyone else was vital.

The trio fought through the warehouse, causing a substantial amount of damage. Soon, they found themselves on the dock of the harbor, with Nyssa close to the edge of the pier.

“You might’ve beaten me, but you haven’t stopped me. I’ll be back, and anyone who gets in my way will suffer.”

“Nyssa, please!” Sara shouted from behind them. She was moving slowly towards them, on unsteady legs, but she made it over to where they were. “No more killing.”

“This only ends two ways, Nyssa, and you know that.” Bruce told her. “Kill her or release her.”

Nyssa suspected it would come to this. She’d hoped Sara would return with her, but after their last encounter, she knew it was a fantasy. She wanted Sara, but she didn’t want Sara to die more. Her decision was already made.

“Taer Al Safher, in the name of Ra’s al Ghul, I release you.” Nyssa said quietly before walking away.

 

“Not trying to kill Batman and the Arrow tonight?” Isabel asked when she saw Joker at Slade’s base of operations. She wanted Oliver to die, but not before he suffered. Being killed in an explosion was too good for him in her opinion.

“I wasn’t trying to kill them, just to play with them.” He answered. “Oh, sorry, I’m being rude. Harley, this is Isabel. The office call girl.”

“No accounting for taste, then.” Harley responded wrinkling her nose. “He doesn’t need your services and we’re busy.”

“Yes. While you sit around making bitchy comments and Slade sits in his corner brooding and talking to himself, I’ve actually been doing something useful.” The Joker told Isabel.

“Oh, really? And what’s that?” She asked skeptically.

“Well, Batsy and Robin Hood have a little ninja problem right now. They’re distracted, which works just fine for me. I've got a new project I've been working on.” He said with a giggle. “Do you wanna see?”

Isabel shook her head and walked away. The Joker terrified her and he knew it. She heard his laughter in her head long after she’d left the building.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Felicity make a startling discovery and Harley lets a big secret slip out.

The night after Sara nearly killed herself and Nyssa released her from the League, Felicity entered the foundry to find Sara, Oliver and Digg sparring with wooden sticks. Oliver and John were both shirtless and Sara was just wearing a sports bra. John misjudged Sara’s reaction time and accidentally hit her in the face, causing them to take a break.

While the trio were recuperating, they got to talking about their scars. Sara was just wrapping up her story about her one gunshot wound when Felicity spoke up.

“I have a scar.” She piped up. she actually had more than one, but this was the only injury she felt comfortable talking about. “It’s in my mouth. My wisdom teeth were really badly impacted. Three stitches.” As soon as she said that, she wanted to slap herself. She wanted to feel included in the conversation, but now she probably sounded like an idiot. Oliver and John’s amused smiles told her everything she needed to know.

“You’re still cute.” Sara remarked with a smile. She was about to say something else when Bruce walked in. He didn’t look happy. “Wow, your angry face is worse than Ollie’s.”

“Let me guess, another dead end.” Felicity said. Finding and stopping the Joker was a marathon, not a sprint and both she and Bruce knew that.

“No, another dead body.” He answered. “Not far from where Roy Harper was injected. They keep turning up with blood coming out of their eyes and impossibly wide grins on their faces.”

Felicity stopped what she was doing and raced over to her computer. “You don’t- of course you do. Frack.” Dead bodies with wide grins were bad. Dead bodies with bleeding eyes were bad. Dead bodies with both were a huge problem and Felicity really didn’t want to think about what that could mean.

“Well, while she’s doing….that, why don’t you spar with us?” Sara suggested. “Wouldn’t wanna get rusty.”

“That’s not really a concern of mine.” Bruce answered.

“Come on, we need to change things up, keeps us on our toes.”

 

Bruce knew it would take Felicity a little while to find the information she was looking for. In the meantime, there was nothing he could do about the Joker and it was too early to patrol. He shrugged and pulled his shirt off, getting ready to spar with the others. He turned to place the garment on one of the tables and heard four gasps. He probably should’ve warned them about his scars. He had more injuries than Oliver and Sara combined and it showed quite clearly on his body.

The group of four sparred for a while, with Bruce beating all of them several times before declaring they should be out on the streets, looking for answers about the Mirakuru and the Joker.

Everyone was suiting up when Felicity stood up and began pacing. “Ok, this is bad. This is like really, really bad. Super bad, not the movie, but worse than normal bad. You all know what I mean. This is terrible. Worse than the Undertaking bad.”

“What’s going on?” Oliver asked.

“Mirakuru isn’t the only thing at play.”

“What?”

“The Mirakuru nutjob’s out there. The Joker’s out there helping him. And things just got way worse. The serum isn’t our biggest problem anymore.” She explained.

“What could be worse than Mirakuru?” Sara asked skeptically.

“Mirakuru combined with Joker Gas.” Bruce and Felicity said at the same time.

“How is that worse? I thought it just made people laugh uncontrollably until they died. Not that anyone dying is a good thing.”

“It’s worse, because he’s messing with the concentration. There’s the version that makes someone laugh themselves to death. And then there’s the version he used on Dr. Quinzel to turn her into Harley Quinn. If he gets the formula right-.”

“We’ll have a bunch of criminals with enhanced strength who are almost as insane as the Joker.” Bruce finished. “Or, the Joker’s gonna poison the water supply like he did in Gotham and someone’s trying to make sure the Mirakuru subjects aren’t also effect.”

“Ok, now Felicity’s reaction is making sense.” Digg said. It annoyed the blonde somewhat they her saying she found out something bad wasn’t enough, but that was an issue for another day.

“What do you need from us?” Oliver asked.

“Nothing. Jack’s gonna- it’s easier for me figure out where he’s making it on my own.” She answered.

“You sure? I mean, I’ve got a lot of experience with chemistry and biology.” Sara offered.

“Yeah, go protect the city. I’ve got this. I know how Joker Gas works better than almost anyone.” She assured them.

 

The others headed out. While Felicity was trying to hack into the autopsy reports of Jack’s test subjects and come up with a list of locations, they stumbled across a group of thieves, led by a hacker, who were trying to rob a bank. Thanks to Bruce being there as well, they were able to stop William Tockman and his cohorts from robbing the bank or getting away. After handing them over to the SCPD, the team came back to the foundry and saw Felicity wearing work-out gear and hitting one of the training dummies.

“What are you doing?” Oliver asked.

“I had to do something or I’d go crazy until I waited for the autopsy reports to load.”

“Why do you need to see them?”

“They would’ve taken samples from their livers. I can use that to see what the make-up of what they ingested is. And since Bruce and I know the normal make-up of Joker Gas-.”

“You’ll be able to see what he’s changing.”

They were waiting for the results to come in and right before they did, Felicity’s phone rang. “You know, you make it way too easy to break into your apartment.” The Joker said. “Don’t let Batsy or your buddy in green know where I am. Or something bad might happen to this very nice apartment of yours.”

“Ok, I’ll be right there.” She said, hanging up the phone. “I gotta go.”

“Now? Why? What’s wrong?”

“I just need to go.” She answered before turning to Bruce. “When the results come in, let me know what they say.”

She grabbed her bag and left. As she was walking out, she heard Sara asked a question. “What happened to her back?”

 

Felicity drove home as fast as she could. She couldn’t decide what she hated more, worrying about finding Jack in her apartment, or knowing he was already there. She unlocked the door and threw it open. Both the Joker and Harley were sitting on her couch, talking and acting like they didn’t have a care in the world.

“Ah, Lissy. So glad you could make it.”

“You mean to my apartment, which you broke in to.” She answered.

“Potato, potahto.” Her brother responded. “When did you become such a stick in the mud?”

“Look, can we skip to the part where you just tell me why you’re here?” Felicity didn’t have the energy to deal with her brother right now.

“No reason. I just wanted to say ‘hi’. And get away from my boring new friends. They’re even less fun than you are. Always sulking in the corner.”

“And talkin’ to themselves.” Harley added. “He might have that whole pirate thing goin’ on, but that Slade guy’s not exactly-.”

“Poo, you weren’t supposed to ruin the surprise.” The Joker playfully admonished. “Forget you heard that.”

“Gladly.” She deadpanned. “I see you’ve been experimenting with your gas again.”

“Oh, you saw those flops?! Boo, I didn’t want you to see it before it’s perfect. Making this city laugh isn’t easy you know.”

“I don’t think she wants us here, Puddin’.” Harley said when Felicity didn’t react at all to what he’d said. “Let’s come back when she’s in a better mood.”

Joker and Harley thankfully left. Before he walked out of the room, however, he turned back to Felicity. “You wanna know how I got these scars?”

“Not really.”

“Maybe when I come back, then.”

After Felicity was sure they were gone, she checked her apartment for any boobytraps or bugs Jack might’ve hidden before calling Oliver. She’d heard both he and Sara mention someone named Slade. If he was the same Slade Jack was working with, it wouldn’t be pretty. She called him, but he didn’t answer and she left a voicemail telling him to call her ASAP and that it was urgent.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity tries to tell Oliver some important information, but he chooses to deny it. Felicity remembers how she got her scar.

After Felicity was sure Jack and Harley were gone, she checked her apartment for any boobytraps or bugs they might’ve hidden before calling Oliver. She’d heard both he and Sara mention someone named Slade. If he was the same Slade Jack was working with, it wouldn’t be pretty. She called him, but he didn’t answer and she left a voicemail telling him to call her ASAP and that it was urgent.

Oliver answered the phone on the second ring. “Everything okay?”

“My brother broke into my apartment.”

“Lock yourself in the bathroom and stay on the phone with me.” He told her. “I can get there in about-.”

“He left. I got him and Harley to leave.” She cut him off. “That’s not why I’m calling. That guy from the island, Slade. What happened to him?”

Oliver was quiet for several moments. “He’s dead. I killed him.”

“You saw him die?”

“He’s dead.”

“But did you actually see him die?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Because Harley just mentioned him by name. Said they were working with him.” She answered. “And one of the most infuriating things about my brother is that he doesn’t lie very often. And if he is alive, it explains how someone got their hands on the supposedly destroyed serum. So, I’m asking you, did you actually see Slade die?”

“No, but there’s no way he could’ve survived what happened.”

“People said the same thing about Jack.” Felicity said. “You should tell Sara, John and Bruce what I just told you.” She hung up and went to bed. She was too exhausted to deal with other people right now.

 

Oliver got off the phone with Felicity and turned to the others in the foundry. Sara and Digg looked confused by the half of the conversation they’d overheard, while Bruce looked like somehow, the conversation had confirmed something he already suspected.

“What was that about?”

“Is Felicity okay?”

“Her brother stopped by, didn’t he?”

“If you knew the Joker was at her apartment, why did you let her leave?” Oliver asked Bruce.

“She’s an adult, I can’t stop her from doing something.” He said. “And I know he wouldn’t actually hurt her. Freak her out or make her feel uncomfortable, yes, but intentionally hurting her is one of the few things he won’t do.”

“And how are you so sure?”

“The Joker only cares about two people: his mother and his sister. He doesn’t show it very well, but Donna and Felicity are the only people he cares about. They’re also the only ones he listens to.”

“Just Donna and Felicity? His girlfriend, or whatever Harley Quinn is to him, doesn’t make that list?” John asked.

“He manipulated her, drove her insane and tried to kill her more than once. Would you put Harley on that list? Because I wouldn’t. He likes Harley, he might even believe that he loves her or something, but if he had to pick between Felicity or her, he wouldn’t pick her.” Bruce explained.

“I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t believe it. The Joker doesn’t care about anybody.” Sara said.

“You’d think that, but there are pieces of Jack Smoak still in there, warped but there, and if there’s one thing Jack Smoak does, its care about his sister, in his own demented way.” Bruce said. “It’s nearly dawn. I’m gonna head out.”

Whatever Felicity said to Oliver clearly unnerved him, and Bruce needed to figure out what that something was. He was clearly in denial about what she said, which meant she was probably right and the sooner Bruce knew what it was, the sooner he could account for it in his planning.

 

The next was quiet at Queen Consolidated. There were no surprise visits from the Joker. Isabel was also out of the office that day, as there was a conference in Havenrock she had to go to for Stellmoor International. The day went by slowly, but eventually it ended and Oliver and Felicity went to the foundry.

“Did you tell them the news I found out?” Felicity asked him as they walked in.

“No. I just wanna be absolutely sure its true before I say anything.”

“So, you don’t believe me.”

“I don’t believe your brother.” He clarified.

“He’s not the one telling you, I am.” She pointed out. “So you deciding you need ‘to be sure’ means you don’t believe what my instinct is telling me. And, not to be rude, but that’s the same philosophy that kept you from confronting your mother about the Undertaking. You didn’t wanna believe it, so you ignored it until it was almost too late. And we both know what happened.” She walked over to her computers and turned them on.

“Felicity-.”

“Save it, Oliver. You don’t believe me. or you don’t trust me. Either way, I don’t really wanna talk to you right now.” She said, not looking at him.

Digg, Sara and Roy came into the foundry soon after Felicity started ignoring Oliver. A few days earlier, Oliver realized he needed to reveal his identity to Roy and now the younger man knew his secret. Interestingly enough, since Roy learned the Arrow’s identity, Bruce had never been in the lair the same time that Roy was. Felicity wondered how long it would take everyone else to realize what he was doing.

Felicity was looking over the autopsy reports from the Joker’s test subjects when Sara and John made their way over to her.

“Hey, um, I don’t wanna make you feel self-conscious about this but-.”

“What would I feel self-conscious about, John?” She asked.

“Your back, the burn mark that’s there.” Sara answered. “What happened?”

“It’s not a new scar. I’ve had it for a while. I don’t like talking about it.” She said.

“Felicity, if your brother-.”

“He didn’t have anything to do with it. There was an accident when I was a kid.” 

* * *

 

**Las Vegas 1998**

Felicity was coloring in her mother’s living room when she heard a beeping noise. She knew that noise meant the timer on the oven was finished. She put down her crayons and turned to her mother’s boyfriend who was watching her and her brother.

“Andy!”

“What is it?” He asked, not looking away from the game that was on TV.

“’The timer went off. That means the chicken nuggets are ready.” She told him.

“Uh-huh. Okay. Go get them then.” He said, still not paying attention.

Not wanting to bug him further, she was already sure Andy didn’t like her, she went into the kitchen. She opened the oven, and just like she’d seen her mother do, she grabbed a potholder and pulled out the tray of chicken nuggets. She saw one fall off of the tray, and not thinking, she reached into the oven to grab it. When she reached in, her right shoulder brushed up against the side of the oven, more specifically, the heating element. She let out a loud scream.

Jack came running into the room, along with Andy. “What the hell are you doing?”

“The food was ready. You told me to take it out.” The nine-year-old defended.

“I didn’t tell you to-.”

“Yes, you did!” She insisted. “I said the chicken nuggets were done and you told me to go get them.”

Andy went into the fridge and handed something to Felicity. “Here, put this on it.”

“How’s butter gonna help?!” Jack yelled.

“Look, kid, your sister did something stupid and-.”

“What is going on?” Donna asked, coming into the room. She’d just gotten off from work by the look of things.

“Felicity burned herself getting food out of the oven.” Andy said.

“Why was Felicity near the oven in the first place?” Donna asked. “Let me guess, you were too busy watching the game. I think you should go.”

“What?”

“My daughter’s hurt. I need to get her to the hospital to get that burn looked at. Please don’t be here when I get back.” She said.

“So, that’s it then? I mess up once and we’re done.”

“I didn’t say that. I just don’t wanna see you right now.” Donna said as she ushered Felicity and Jack towards the door. Andy grabbed his keys and his wallet and left in a huff.

Felicity was very lucky that the burn wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. She’d only been in contact with the heating element for a few seconds, but she still had a second-degree burn. Donna didn’t see Andy for the next week, saying she needed time to calm down. Saying she was angry about what happened would be an understatement. Andy drove over to apologize a week and a half later.

On his way home from Donna’s apartment, he crashed his car and was killed. Jack had found a starving rabid dog, knocked it out and locked it in the car. While Andy was driving, the dog woke up and attacked him. The dog was fine, Andy died in the crash and the police were baffled by the circumstances of his death. Donna believed it to be a freak accident, as did Felicity at the time. Years later, after more of her mother’s boyfriends had “accidents” befall them, Felicity realized who put the dog in the car and why. Something about Andy letting Felicity get hurt made Jack snap and the teenager killed him for it. He also realized he could get away with killing people pretty easily. It

Felicity’s burn never fully healed and she always had a scar on her back from the incident. 

* * *

 

**Starling City- Present**

The Joker and Harley watched with gleeful expressions as their latest test subject was exposed to the Joker Gas. The results looked promising. It seemed like Joker was finally out of his creative funk. For once, the subject didn’t die within a few minutes of being exposed to the chemicals. That was a good sign. The test subject’s laughter subsided and he looked at the pair with a grin almost as wide as the Joker’s.

“I think it might be ready.” Harley said in a sing-song voice.

Joker pulled out a gun and shot the man in the head. “It’s certainly a good sign. Not quite ready for Lissy yet though.” He looked at his watch and saw the time. “I gotta go see a woman about an earthquake machine.”

After an unremarkable few hours patrolling the city, Oliver stopped by his mother’s house to talk to her about something. She wanted to explain why she’d lied about Thea’s father, and asked him to lie, but he didn’t want to hear her excuses. He was about to air his other grievances with her when a voice called out.

“Mrs. Queen? Is everything alright?” A male voice asked from another room and Oliver froze. The voice was familiar, too familiar.

“Yes, Mr. Wilson, I was just speaking with my son.” His mother said. “Let me introduce you.”

Oliver turned around and found himself face-to-face with Slade Wilson once again. The Joker, in his Jay Smoak disguise, was standing behind him. He should’ve listened to Felicity.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver deals with not one, but two, psychopaths being in his house, around his family.

Oliver stood there, barely containing his anger as Moira introduced him to Slade and the Joker, who was posing as Slade’s assistant. He couldn’t believe this was happening. How had Slade survived? Why was the Joker working with Slade? What was their end goal? The archer was really starting to regret not taking Felicity’s warning more seriously.

He zoned out as Moira and Slade talked. He was trying to figure out how to get both madmen to leave his house without hurting anyone. To make matters worse, just as Oliver was about to come up with an excuse to make Slade and Jack leave, Thea came home. Slade made small talk with her, which led to him asking for a tour of the house. Oliver couldn’t leave his sister and mother alone with two psychopaths and stayed to join the tour.

“Why so serious?” The Joker asked him. “Taking a tour never killed anyone.”

Oliver followed after the group. While Thea was giving the history behind a particular painting, he saw an opportunity. He dialed Felicity’s number and hid the phone in his pocket.

 

Felicity, Sara, Roy and Digg were in the foundry, wondering where Oliver was. He claimed he was going home for a little bit before returning to the lair. That was over an hour ago. Her phone rang, and she picked up.

 All she could hear was background noise. “Oh, looks like we’ve been buttdialed.” She said as she put the phone on speaker.

“And who was the artist of this one?” A voice with an Australian accent asked.

Sara went still and paled. “Oh, god no.” She said, rushing over to where the weapons are.

“That’s Slade Wilson, isn’t it?” Felicity asked.

“You knew he was alive and didn’t-.”

“I told Oliver, I told him to tell you. He was either in denial or didn’t believe me. I tried.” She argued.

“What’s the problem?” Digg asked.

“If we don’t stop him, he’s going to kill Oliver and his entire family.” Sara said.

“It does put a smile on my face.” A different voice said on the other end of the phone.

“Oh frack.” Felicity said. “Of course he’s there too.”

“Who’s there?” Roy asked.

“The Joker.” She said. “You guys leave now. I’ll call Batman to lend a hand.”

“We know Batman?” Roy asked.

“Later. We have to move. Now.” Sara insisted. She handed Digg the biggest gun they had in the foundry. “This might work. you get the chance, you get a shot, you put him down.”

“Which him?” He asked, following her out.

“Either of them.” The Joker might’ve been Felicity’s brother, but he was also a huge threat that needed to be dealt with. She’d deal with any feelings Felicity had about it later.

 

Roy and Sara snuck into the mansion to intercept the tour group while Digg got set up on the roof of the garage to take a shot at Slade when he left. Sara broke in using an upstairs window, while Roy came in through the front door, saying he was there to pick up Thea. Slade had a short showdown with Sara and Roy each, before the Joker decided to speak up.

“You know, you both look very familiar to me. I feel like we’ve met before.” He said. Like everyone else, Sara and Roy were disturbed by the Joker’s permanent grin and how funny he seemed to think the clearly tense situation was.  “You must be Laurel.”

Oliver and Sara both paused. Sara wasn’t Laurel. The Joker knew she wasn’t Laurel. if he was working with Slade, there was no doubt he knew exactly who she was. “No, Laurel’s my sister. I’m Sara.”

“Oh sorry, I’m terrible with names. And its so hard keeping track of the girl’s in Ollie’s life. He’s a real ladies man over there.” He said. "Wait, I thought Sara Lance drowned five years ago?"

“Mr. Smoak, we need to go. This enjoyable tour ran longer than I anticipated.” Slade said. “Thank you for your hospitality. I look forward to seeing you again, Mrs. Queen.”

The Joker walked over to Thea and kissed her hand, saying goodbye. He looked directly at Roy when he did it, which he knew would anger the teen.

“Let me walk both of you out.” Oliver offered.

 

Digg saw Slade and the Joker leave the building. He wasn’t sure, but he could’ve sworn the Joker looked directly at him and waved. Deciding Slade was the bigger threat, he prepared to take a headshot. He was about to pull the trigger when he was hit on the head from behind.

“Sorry, handsome.” Harley said. “You’re gonna ruin all the fun.”

“You think poisoning innocent people is fun?” Batman said in his signature growl, appearing behind Harley.

“I don’t know if I’d use the word ‘innocent’ on them.” She said.

She swung the bat in her hands at Batman. He dodged and began fighting her. John prepared to take the shot again, while she was distracted, but as he was about to fire, again, she managed to get away from Bruce and attack him. Despite Waller’s assessment of Harley being just a psychotic psychiatrist, her combat skills were impressive. She took advantage of her gymnastics training to both fight Batman and stop him from getting close enough to incapacitate her. After the second failed attempt to shoot Slade, Digg gave up and turned his attention to Harley.

“Sorry, fellas. This has been fun, but I gotta go. Toodles.” She said, blowing them a kiss before leaping off of the roof.

 

 

Oliver was talking to Slade next to his car. He realized that Slade was behind the plot to inject people with Mirakuru and that he was controlling the man in the skull mask. The man didn’t deny it, and Joker just stood there with a huge grin on his face.

“I have my allies, just as you have yours.” Slade said. “John Diggle for example. I suppose you’re wondering why he hasn’t taken his shot.”

“Don’t worry. He’s alive. Harley didn’t think killing him would be that fun.” The Joker said with a laugh.

“What do you want?” Oliver asked.

“To make the world laugh.”

The archer ignored him, and focused on Slade. “Five years ago, I made you a promise. Do you remember? I’m here to fulfill it.”

“He he he. It’s gonna be great.” The Joker said with a laugh as Slade got into his car and drove away. “Tell Lissy I’ll see her soon. I’m gonna go before Batsy shows up.” The Joker got into his own car and drove off as well.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity makes something clear to the team, and Bruce has another run-in with 'Jay Smoak'.

After Slade and the Joker left Queen Mansion, Oliver and Sara found Digg climbing down from his hiding spot. He explained that he was about to take the shot, but Harley Quinn kept him distracted. He also added that Bruce had shown up to lend him a hand and try to buy him an opening to stop Slade.

“That wasn’t what he was doing. He wasn’t gonna let you kill Slade. He’s against killing.” Sara said, recalling what she knew about Bruce from Nyssa. “He was probably hoping to either capture Harley and return her to a psych ward or that you’d maim Slade, but not kill him.”

“Still, lucky he showed up when he did.” Oliver said. Harley, like the Joker, was an unknown quantity. They didn’t really know what she was capable of.

“I wouldn’t call it luck. Felicity probably called him.”

With the threat handled, everyone went back to the foundry. Oliver knew he’d have to apologize to Felicity for not believing her, but after that, they needed to regroup and decide what to do next. When they arrived, Felicity was biting her nails and pacing the lair. She gave everyone a look-over, saw no one was seriously injured and then asked what happened. Oliver told his part of the story and then Digg explained what he was doing during that time.

“They got away.”

“Of course they did. Did you really think Slade, or my brother, didn’t expect Oliver to call for help? Or you not to set a trap? Why do you think I called Batman?” She said.

“Speaking of Batman, I didn’t really see it before.” Sara said.

“See what?”

“The ‘thing’ the two of you have. You claim to hate each other, but that’s not the only feeling you have for each other, is it?”

“Bruce and I don’t have a ‘thing’ and never will. I don’t hate him anymore, but I don’t feel the way you seem to think I do.”

“Denial really doesn’t suit you. You might not wanna admit it, but-.”

“Sara-.” Oliver said.

“Every time I look at Bruce, I’m reminded of the part he played in turning my brother into the Joker.” Felicity said, cutting her off. “And every time he looks at me, he’s reminded of his dead son who my brother killed. The son who went missing and I refused to help him find. The only thing we agree on, the only thing I trust him to do, is stop the Joker. Because no one else here seems to take anything I say, any warning I give, seriously.” She raised her voice. “You know what, I don’t feel like dealing with this right now. Good night.” She walked out of the building.

“Shouldn’t we stop her? Or one of us go with her?” John asked.

“Pretty sure she wants to be alone right now.”

 

Felicity drove home, ticked off. It was one thing for Oliver and Sara to shove their happy relationship in her face, especially after Oliver’s testament that he ‘can’t be with someone he could really care about’. It stung, the rejection, but she could move past it. What really annoyed her was the implication that, if Felicity had a ‘thing’ for Bruce, it meant she couldn’t be hurt by Oliver’s actions. Or Sara’s. Even if she did have feelings for Bruce, it didn’t negate her hurt feelings over Oliver. It also didn’t escape her attention that, the more Batman was around, the moodier Oliver seemed to be for no reason.

Felicity arrived at home, saw that the apartment was, thankfully, empty of any intruders, parked herself on the couch and started watching a marathon of Planet Earth. She didn’t pay close attention to it, but it calmed her down.

 

Things were awkward in the foundry the following night. No one mentioned what happened the night before or asked Bruce how he felt about Felicity. the blonde’s outburst made it clear that there were no feelings there and exactly how insulting she found the questions. The last thing the city needed were for Batman and Team Arrow to have a falling out over something so seemingly trivial.

“Any lead on Slade or Joker or Harley or anyone?” Oliver asked.

“If I had a lead, don’t you think I’d tell you?” Felicity countered. “Batman, you have any leads?”

“So far, no.”

“We’re nowhere, fantastic.” Sara remarked. “We should still go looking.”

“And where are you gonna look? We don’t know where in the city they could be, or if they’re even in the city.” Digg asked. Suddenly, Felicity began typing furiously. “What is it?”

“Ok, so I don’t know what Slade looks like, but I do know the Joker’s face. And Harley’s and make-up will only do so much. I snuck a little bug into the city’s surveillance system. It does facial recognition and extrapolates a little from there, taking my brother’s tendency to wear make-up to hide his scars into account. I’m getting a bunch of results in the last hour.”

“Ok, where is he?”

“Hochman Hotel ballroom.” She answered.

“Hochman Hotel? That’s-.”

“Where Sebastian Blood is having a fundraiser.” Batman said. He looked at Oliver. “That’s not the suit you’re gonna need.”

“Uh, my mom is running against Blood, I can’t just show up at one of his events.”

“You aren’t going _to_ the event. You just happen to be in the building for some reason. Make something up.” Bruce said before disappearing into the shadows.

 

Bruce arrived at the hotel shortly after the event started. There were a decent amount of people present, but clearly the crowd that wanted to be fashionably late hadn’t arrived yet. He greeted the few attendees he knew and met a few others. The whole time he kept an eye out for the Joker. Somehow, he found himself conversing with Blood about his plans for the city.

“-the Glades were in dire shape before Malcolm Merlyn decided to try and level them. Since the quake, they’ve just gotten worse.” Sebastian said.

“The Glades are nothing compared to the Narrows of Gotham.” A voice cut in. Bruce’s grip on his drink tightened as he found himself face-to-face with the Joker, currently dressed as Jay Smoak. “Any resident of the Narrows would find the Glades quite idyllic.”

“Murders and assaults are increasing in the Glades.”

“And the Narrows are slums. Plagued with violence and crime. Every vicious criminal in Gotham calls it home. The district isn’t safe even in broad daylight, let alone at night. People are mugged and shot on a daily basis in the Narrows.” The Joker said. “If you don’t believe me, just ask Mr. Wayne here about his parents.”

“I’d rather not talk about it.” Bruce said. “Could I talk with you for a second, Mr. Smoak?” He needed to get Joker away from the crowd before confronting and trying to capture him. it was the only way to prevent a bloodbath.

“But we’re having such an interesting conversation.” He said before turning to Blood. “Gotham is way worse than Starling, and Batman hasn’t helped. I think some psychos come to town just to fight him. He attracts criminals to Gotham. The ones he doesn’t create, that is. And I’m not even gonna mention the GCPD, because they’re just a bad joke.”

“No, they aren’t.” Laurel said angrily from behind them. “My father knows plenty of cops on Gotham. They are not a joke. They’re doing all they can with the resources they have.”

“Let me guess, one of those cops is named Gordon.” He said. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Laurel Lance. The assistant district attorney.”

“Does that mean you decide who lives and dies with a coin toss?” He asked. “Ever since Dent crossed paths with Batman, he’s half the man he used to be.”

Laurel’s glare intensified. “I knew Harvey Dent in law school. What happened to him was a tragedy. You shouldn’t find it amusing.” The Joker wasn’t aware that Laurel knew Harvey. He did know that most lawyers didn’t like being compared to Dent because of his actions since his ‘accident’. The fact that she knew him personally just made the situation funnier.

“I have a very….unique sense of humor.” The Joker said as he looked around the room. “Oh, I see someone I need to go have a chat with. Bye-bye.”

Isabel was standing at the bar, waiting for her drink when she felt a presence behind her. Thinking it was just another attendee wanting to order, she moved to the side a few inches. She got annoyed when the person didn’t just hurry up and order.

“Hello, gorgeous.” She heard the Joker’s voice and stiffened. What was he doing here? Why didn’t Slade tell her he was going to be here? “I think its time you and I have another little chat. Don’t you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will not be a chapter next week, because I'll be on vacation.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Joker and Batman have a confrontation and Moira makes a huge mistake.

"Hello, gorgeous.” The Joker said as he approached Isabel. What was he doing here? Why didn’t Slade tell her he was going to be here? “I think its time you and I have another little chat. Don’t you?”

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“Supporting Alderman Blood with his campaign, same as you. Why else would I be here?”

“Sla- Our other associate didn’t tell me you’d be here.”

“Of course not. He doesn’t know. I work with him, not for him.” He said with a wide grin. “We do need to have a little chat though. About your need to be nicer to people.”

“You’re lecturing me about manners?” She scoffed.

“I’m a lot of things. Rude isn’t one of them.” He said. “I love my sister, she might not understand who I am, but I love her. So, when people are not nice to my sister, well, I don’t think I should have to be nice to them.” He paused. “They also tend to die pretty soon after they upset her. Just something to think about.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Giving you some advice, actually. It would be a shame if you worked this long for revenge and you had an….accident before you could get it.” He said before walking away.

 

“Is there a problem, Mr. Wayne?” Blood asked as he saw Bruce glare at the Joker as he walked away.

“Mr. Smoak and I don’t see eye-to-eye.” He answered.

“Smoak, like Felicity Smoak?” Laurel asked. “Is he related to her?”

“He’s her very estranged brother from what I hear. They haven’t talked in years.” He said, before checking his watch. “I’m afraid I need to go. Early morning meeting tomorrow.” He could see that Joker was about to leave. He needed to follow after him and catch him. He left out of a side door, changed quickly into his cape and cowl and waited for the Joker to leave the ballroom. There was only one exit, so he had to exit out of the door he was waiting by. Where had he gone?

“How predictable.” The Clown Prince of Crime said from behind him. “Let me guess. Your friend Bruce Wayne told you I was here and you came running. Or are you waiting for the Robin Hood wannabe? I haven’t seen him, but I’m sure he’s lurking around here too.”

“It’s time for you to go back to Arkham.”

“But I’m having so much fun here.” The Joker said with a grin. “Besides, if you chase after me, who’s gonna deal with the little present I left in the boiler room? This is a classy hotel. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.”

He knew Batman well at this point. All he had to do was claim he had a planted a bomb or taken someone hostage and Batman would run off to save the day, giving him an opening to escape. Predictably, Batman rushed to the boiler room to defuse the bomb Joker claimed to have planted. The Joker sauntered off with a laugh. He met Harley outside who looked out of breath.

“You know, for a guy that dresses like Robin Hood, the Arrow’s tough to fight.” Her job had been to keep the Arrow distracted until Joker left, so that Batman didn’t have any back-up inside the hotel. “Kinda thought he’d be a wimp.”

Bruce discovered there hadn’t been a bomb and went to the foundry to ask where Oliver had been. He arrived to find Oliver looking a little banged up and noted he’d definitely have a black eye the next day.

“What happened?”

“Harley Quinn happened.”

“You couldn’t stop the Joker’s crazy girlfriend who weighs like 90 pounds?” Sara asked.

“To be fair, John couldn’t either.” Felicity pointed out.

“She’s a trained gymnast and she’s a master combatant.” Bruce said. “Biggest, and usually last, mistake people tend to make when they confront her is thinking she’s easy to take down. Waller needed a SWAT team to bring her in when she caught her.” He turned to Oliver. “Put some ice on that and work from home tomorrow.”

 

Oliver took Bruce’s advice and worked from the mansion the next day. The CEO couldn’t very well show up with a black eye without raising alarms. Felicity went into the office, but ended up heading to the mansion since there was paperwork Oliver needed to fill out. She also just hated being in the office when Oliver wasn’t there, but Isabel was.

She arrived and Raisa let her in. The Russian woman told her Oliver was in the shower but she’d tell him she was here. Felicity was asked to wait in the sitting room. While she was sitting there, Moira Queen walked in. She saw Felicity and frowned.

“What are you doing here?”

“I have paperwork I need Oliver to sign.”

“You could’ve sent someone else to deliver them.” She said. “I can’t believe you have the audacity to come here, into my home, after what you did.”

Felicity sighed. She knew what this was about. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You told Oliver the truth about Thea’s father, even after I warned you not to. You cost me my son.”

“Oliver isn’t angry because I told him the truth. He’s angry because you didn’t.”

“What I choose to tell or keep from my son is none of your business. You had no right to get involved with a family matter.” Moira said. “Bad things tend to happen to people who stick their noses into other people’s affairs.”

Before Felicity could respond, Oliver came downstairs. He basically ignored Moira and gave Felicity what she needed before asking her to check on a few things down in Applied Sciences.

 

“What I choose to tell or keep from my son is none of your business. You had no right to get involved with a family matter.” Joker saw Moira say on the feed from one of the cameras Slade had hidden during their tour of the mansion. He waited eagerly to see his sister’s response. Felicity could argue with someone for hours, given the right motivation. He liked watching this verbal sparring match, until Moira made a big mistake.

“Bad things tend to happen to people who stick their noses into other people’s affairs.” She said to Felicity.

The Joker saw red. Threatening Felicity was never a good idea. Especially when it was someone like Moira Queen, who’d threaten but then have someone else to the dirty work for her. he and Moira needed to have a chat, and this time, she needed to know who she was dealing with. He was busy plotting his move and wasn’t paying attention to anything that happened in the mansion after that.

 

That evening, after QC had closed and Felicity and Oliver had gone to Verdant for another night of trying to stop Slade and his cohorts, the Joker got into his car and drove to Queen Mansion. He needed to make some things clear to Moira and there was no time like the present. He was shown inside by a maid, who asked him to wait while she told Moira about a visitor.

From where he was standing, he could see Moira before she spotted him. She had an annoyed look on her face, until she almost could see him, and then her face became neutral. It was fitting that Moira was running for mayor, since she had already mastered faking sincerity. She’d make a great politician. She greeted him and asked what brought him to the mansion.

“You and I need to have a little chat about my sister.” He answered. “And by that, I mean your behavior towards her.” He started out pleasant enough but there was an edge to his voice towards the end.

“My behavior towards her? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Mrs. Queen. it’s an insult to both of us. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” He said as he started to move about the room. He stopped in front of a framed photo on an end table. “Felicity is my sister, my only sister.” He picked up the photograph, which was of Oliver and Thea and was taken a few weeks before the Gambit sank. “Bad things tend to happen to people who threaten my sister and the people they care about." He put the photo down and Moira saw the glass was cracked. "Like Ollie or sweet little Thea.”

“Are you threatening me?”

He took off his glasses and let out a laugh. Moira froze. He didn’t just have any laugh; it was a very distinct laugh. It couldn’t be. While she was staring at him, he pulled out a hankerchef and wiped his face. When he looked back up at her, the make-up hiding his scars were gone. Moira found herself face-to-face with the Joker.

“Yes, I am threatening you.” He said. “And Oliver and Thea. Threaten my sister again, and one of them might have an accident. Or I’ll start sending them back to you in pieces.”

Moira was frozen in place and couldn’t do anything but watch as the Joker picked up his hat and walked out of the room. She used to believe Malcolm was scary, but the Joker was downright terrifying.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thea goes missing, which is bad for Team Arrow, but good for Slade and Joker.

Thea stormed away from Verdant, furious. She’d tried to talk to Roy, to figure out why he seemed deadest on pushing her away. He refused to say anything except tell her that they needed to break up. She knew he was hiding something from her, but wouldn’t tell her. She was so sick of everyone lying to her. As she left the club and walked down the street, a car pulled up beside her. The back door opened.

“You shouldn’t be walking alone at this hour in this part of town.” Slade said, getting out of the car. “Get inside. I’ll give you a lift home.”

Sniffling, Thea got into the car and Slade told his driver to drive off.

 

Meanwhile, Oliver, Bruce, Felicity, Digg and Sara were in the foundry, debating what to do. Oliver and Sara insisted they needed to find where Slade was operating out of, where he was making the Mirakuru, and destroy the lab. If he couldn’t produce the serum, he couldn’t fulfill his master plan. Bruce didn’t agree, believing the Joker and his Joker Gas was the bigger threat.

“We can’t just ignore the threat Slade possesses.” Sara argued.

“I’m not saying you should. I’m saying he’s not the most immediate threat.” Batman said. “Slade might be affected by the Mirakuru, but his actions, his methods, they follow some kind of logic. The Joker’s doesn’t. He’s the definition of an unknown quantity. I can tell you what Slade’s next move will be, I can’t say the same about the Joker.”

“They’re working together though.”

“Felicity, you wanna weigh in here?” Oliver said.

“They aren’t working together. Slade has his plan, and the Joker has his own. They might be aligned, but that doesn’t mean, if Slade’s plan fails, Jack’s just gonna give up.” She said.

“What are you saying?”

“Slade was revenge against Oliver. It’s messed up, but it’s a clear motive. What does Jack have to gain? Nothing. Because he only wants chaos. Slade’s gonna do something drastic. The city’s gonna panic. When they panic, Jack’s gonna step in and make the whole situation worse, like he always does. Slade still needs his army, Jack doesn’t.” She said. “We need to put all of the psych wards on lockdown.”

“What?”

“Two types of people work for my brother: the ones he threatens and the ones who are insane. He tends to kill people in the first group.”

 

Slade’s car came to a stop and he ordered Thea to get out. She was dragged out of the car by his drover. She wasn’t anywhere near Queen Mansion. Terrified, she kicked the man holding her in the crotch and ran. She had no idea where she was, and didn’t have a clue where she was going, but she ran. Suddenly, something hit her in the head.

“Not so fast, sweetcheeks.” Harley said with a grin. “You made it farther than I thought you would.”

Slade’s men caught up and dragged Thea into a building, while Harley rolled her eyes at how slow they were.

 

Oliver remembered he needed to be seen at his mother’s debate that night, so he asked Felicity to start looking for Slade, while Sara, Digg and Bruce patrolled the streets. The debate was just starting when a video began to play. It showed Thea tied to chair and begging for the person holding the camera to leave her alone. A distorted voice asked the crowd “How much does Thea Queen’s life mean to you” before being shut off. The debate was rescheduled and Oliver took off for the foundry.

 

After the video had been broadcast during the debate, Slade had his men untie Thea and he walked out of the room. Thea was eighteen and weight maybe 120 pounds soaking wet. All of his men were experienced fighters and had guns. She wasn’t going to escape. The door opened again and she saw the Joker, in his Jay Smoak disguise, come into the room. All of Slade’s men left, feeling uncomfortable around the Joker.

“Sorry about this. It’s just business.” He told her as he poured a glass of water for himself and another one for her.

“You- Felicity-?”

“Oh, my sister has no clue that I’m here. She’d give me a lecture about right and wrong. You know what that’s like.” He said, handing her the glass of water.

Thea threw the glass of water in Jay's face. As soon the water hit his face, he clutched his face and began screaming. His glasses fell off and he turned away from her, hunching over. still screaming as though Thea had thrown acid at hm.

“MY FACE!!! MY FACE!!! IT BURNS!!! AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!” He screamed theatrically.

In spite of herself, Thea began to worry if Jay was all-right. Was he really was hurt? It had only been water, hadn’t it? Suddenly Jay whirled around to face her. He moved his hands away from his face. Thea screamed at what she saw.

It was like watching make-up run down his face, but instead it was his skin. Thea realised, with mounting horror, that he had been wearing make-up. Make-up and wash-out hair dye. The make-up had begun to wash off, revealing pale, bone-white skin, ruby red lips that seemed to stretch across hollow cheeks forming a permanent smile and black marks around his sunken eyes.

She could also see now, without his glasses, that his eyes were bloodshot. His eyes were a demonic yellow hue with red pupils. The dye in his hair was running down his face, revealing green hair. White skin, red eyes, green hair, a permanent smile on his face. Thea realised who he was, who Jay Smoak really was. Felicity's brother was the Joker.

“Boo!” said Joker before letting out a deranged giggle. Thea backed away from him in horror but Joker's smile only widened as he advanced on her. “Oh, dear. My make-up's running.”

“That’s quite enough, Joker.” Slade said, going along with the plan the pair of them had made. “I didn’t bring Ms. Queen here for you to terrorize her.”

“Party-pooper.”

 

Oliver reached the foundry and was already yelling for Felicity to figure out where Thea was. She was doing the best she could, but it was clear that Slade took her and he knew Oliver would ask Felicity for help finding her. He left her to her searching after getting a call from Isabel, who said they needed to talk about the company. One of the board members presented him with a document transferring his control of the company to someone else. When he asked who, a board member named Albert Smith had volunteered. He signed the document and told them not to bother him until his sister had been found. He went back to the foundry where Felicity had a location.

“You realize this is most likely a distraction, right?” Bruce said. “She’s not gonna be there. Slade probably won’t be there either.”

“He won’t know we’re coming. He’s not that smart.” Sara remarked.

“He’s been a step ahead of you for months. Why would today be any different?” He countered. “By all means, go. I’ll be here, trying to figure out what he’s really up to.”

 

Sara, Oliver and Roy went to the location Felicity had given them. Slade was there, but Thea was nowhere to be found, like Bruce predicted. They got into an altercation before the SCPD showed up.  Slade was arrested, but then released since he had an alibi for when Thea was taken. To add insult to injury, Slade made an announcement offering money to anyone who helped find Thea Queen. Roy was pissed about Slade’s arrest and the fact that he managed to walk free.

Slade went to the warehouse where he was holding Thea. She was livid and demanded to be freed. He told her he’d gotten what he wanted and said she was free to go. Before she left, he said there was something Oliver was keeping from her. This stopped her in her tracks.

 

The team went back to the foundry just as the sun was rising. Oliver was desperate to find Thea. Sara was angry. Roy was downright murderous about the situation. Bruce wasn’t there, having run off when the team was confronting Slade.

“Slade’s untouchable. Thea’s still missing and your brother is MIA. Oh, and Batman’s not here.” Roy said through clenched teeth. “Where is he?”

“He had a theory.” Felicity answered.

“A theory? He didn’t help us beat the answers out of Slade because he had a theory?” He said angrily. “And what’s your excuse?”

“Excuse me?”

“You say you wanna stop your brother, but you don’t wanna hurt him. You aren’t exactly unbiased here. And you’re the one who said Slade wasn’t a threat.”

“I said he wasn’t the biggest threat. I never said we should just ignore him.” She started typing on her keyboard. There had to be something she missed. Something she overlooked. There had to be a way to find Thea.

“Your sister’s fine, Queen.” Bruce said walking in. “She walked into a police station five minutes ago.”

“He released her. Why?”

“Because, like I said, it was a distraction. While you were scouring the city for Thea, Slade was attacking a prison transport. Now, he has his army.”

“Um, guys? I think that might not be the biggest of our problems.” Felicity said, pointing to the TV, which was playing the news. “You might want to see this.”

The others all crowded around Felicity and the TV screen. There was breaking news. The headline on the screen read “Jay Smoak, new Queen Consolidated CEO.”

The Joker, in his Jay Smoak disguise was standing on platform before a press conference of reporters. All smiles and charisma as he waved to the crowd.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you all very, very much. This is a very unexpected honour, however now I must grin and bear the burden of responsibility. But I promise that I will keep my employees happy and smiling. I would also like to say hello to my mom and sister who are watching.” He said. before waving at the camera and mouthing ‘hi mom, hi sis.’ He then continued. “My mother always tells me to smile and put on a happy face. She told me I had a purpose to bring laughter and joy to the world. I hope that with me at the helm of QC that we will make Starling a happier place and bring a smile to the face of the whole city. Because I think that this city is in desperate need of saving. In fact, I’d go so far as to say,” He paused and looked directly into the camera, as if making eye-contact with someone. “I think that what this city needs right now are some heroes.”


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Joker begins his reign of terror.

Joker stood in front of a podium, giving a speech. The news about him becoming the CEO of Queen Consolidated had just broken.

“Because I think that this city is in desperate need of saving. In fact, I’d go so far as to say,” He paused and looked directly into the camera, as if making eye-contact with someone. “I think that what this city needs right now are some heroes.” A few reporters raised their hands, wanting to ask questions. “I am excited to get to work, so I will not be taking any questions at this time.” He turned, and with Harley behind him, walked into the Queen Consolidated building.

In Verdant, everyone froze in shock until the news moved on to a different topic. Then, nearly everyone exploded. John said he needed to go shoot something. Sara walked over to a training dummy and started hitting it. Roy punched, and dented, a metal table. Bruce glared at the television as if he could intimidate it into changing what had just happened. Felicity looked like she’d been hit by a truck and Oliver stood there, running his hands through his hair.

“How the hell did this happen?” Bruce asked after several moments.

“I have no idea. Jack must’ve- I don’t know. The only way he could take over QC is if the board- the board voted him in. They voted to make him CEO.” Felicity said. “How would- Oliver and Isabel share control of the company.”

“Isabel’s with Slade. I was leaving QC today, and she made a comment about how Thea wouldn’t have gone missing if I wasn’t so preoccupied with my night job.” Oliver admitted.

“Okay, but even if she is with Slade, you still control 50% of the company.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Bruce said. “You did something, didn’t you, when your sister was missing.”

“Yes, I- Thea was missing, I needed to focus on my family. The board said- I gave temporary control of to one of the board members. It was just supposed to be until they found her.”

“Well, somehow, the Joker convinced them to make it permanent.”

“This might work in our favor.” Felicity said.

“What?”

“How?”

“You’re as crazy as your brother.”

“No, I’m not. Isabel would’ve fired me the second she took over. Jack won’t. I’ll still have a job, so I can keep an eye on him.”

“You can’t do that. Your brother’s-.”

“I know what he’s like, but I can see what he’s up to a lot easier inside QC than outside.”

 

Felicity blew out a breath before entering QC the next morning. She walked past the front desk. “Ms. Smoak, your brother wants to talk to you in his office.”

She stopped in her tracks, winced and then sighed. There was no escaping it then. On her way up, she saw that QC was abuzz with activity. Everybody was talking about their new boss and what would change.

Felicity reached the top floor to find Harley sitting at her desk dressed as a secretary. “Mr. Jay is expecting you Lissy.” She waved her into the office. Felicity took a very deep breath before she entered.

It was completely different from Oliver’s. Jack hadn't wasted any time in redecorating Oliver’s old office to suit him.  He had a massive ornate desk and he was sitting in huge high-back chair that looked more like a throne.

There were two hyenas sat either side of the desk. They were great big beasts; both looked like they could take on fully grown man. They had pale greyish-brown fur with reddish spots and bone crushing fangs. Sitting either side of the desk, they looked more like guard dogs. One had a spiked red collar and the other had black spiked collar. Jack also had a small black sausage dog which he was stroking. It had a black and red spiked collar. Jack himself wasn't dressed in his usual brown pin-striped suit. Instead, he was dressed in a dark purple suit with green pin stripes with a dark green waist coat and a red tie.

When he noticed Felicity, his face lit up. “Felicity! Come in! Come in! I have good news.” He then noticed that she was staring at the dogs. “Oh, this is bud,” he pointed at the hyena with the red collar, “and this is Lou,” he pointed at the hyena with the black collar, “and this little guy is Charlie.” He held up the wiener dog. “Like what I’ve done with the place?”

“It's very.... interesting.” She said, trying to find the right words to say.

 “Yes, I bet it was quite a surprise, me becoming CEO. Smoak Tech sounds so much better than Queen Consolidated. Poor little Ollie. He’s lost so much but I guess now he has more in common with Brucie and that coma patient of yours. Bit of an unsettling pattern developing with your boyfriends.” He said with a chuckle. 

Felicity was about to reply when an intern came into the office with a box mark “Isabel’s crap”. The intern cleared his throat. “I have all of Ms. Rochev’s things, as you requested, sir.”

 “Ah, at last.” Jack said brightly as he got up from behind the desk and walked over to them. “Felicity could you hold Charlie for a moment?” He handed her the dog, who’s tongue was hanging out and his tail was waging happily. “Aw, he likes you.” Jack took the box out of the intern’s hands and then put it on the floor. He then turned to the two hyenas “Bud, Lou you can do your business now.”

As if on command, Bud and Lou got up and moved over to the box and did their “business”. Bud raised his leg over the box while Lou crouched over it. Felicity gasped while the intern’s mouth fell open. Jack went over to a window and opened it.

When the hyenas were finished, Jack picked up the box and threw it out of the window. He turned around with a big grin on his face, brushing off his hands. He noticed that the intern was still standing there with shocked look on his face. “You can go now.”

After the intern left, Felicity found her voice again. “Is Isabel leaving …us?”

“Unfortunately, no. I’m just moving her to a new office in the sub sub-basement of the building and I’m gonna give her office to someone who actually deserves it “ 

“Felicity I’m making you my head of IT and I'm also giving you a raise and a pay rise of 50%.”

“What?” Felicity asked, taken aback. She put Charlie down on the ground between Bud and Lou.

“Not generous enough? Oh, all right then, how about 100%?” He said “And your own personal staff, an assistant, a secretary and a company car too”

“What?! Why?”

“Well, you’re overqualified for the job and besides I have Harley as my secretary. Speaking of which, watch this.” He said before pressing the intercom “Oh, Harley.”

“Yes, Mr. Jay?”

“Will you come in here for a moment?” Harley came into the office. “Harley would you please light a cigar for me?”

“Yes Mr. Jay.” She opened the cigar box on Jack's desk and began rolling it up and down her thigh. Felicity gaped. Then Harley sat on the desk, picked up the cigar cutter and cut the end off of the cigar. She put it in her mouth, lit a match and then used it to light the cigar. She took a few puffs before taking it out of her mouth. She leaned across the desk to Jack and seductively put it into his mouth. “Will that be all, Mr. Jay?”

Jack took moment to answer before remembering that Felicity was in the room. “That will be all for now, Harley.” After she left, Jack turned to Felicity puffing on his cigar. “Bet Oliver Queenie wished he'd asked you to do that.”

“No, he wouldn't because he'd never ask me to do something like that.”

“Yeah right.”

Just then the intercom went off again. “Mr. Jay, your mother's on the phone.” 

Jack pick up the phone “Hi mom…you saw me on TV. Oh great. Don't I look handsome?  Yes, who'd have thought. Your son, the CEO of major company. I’m thinking of renaming it. How does Smoak Tech sound… What? No, of course I’m not smoking.” He put the cigar down on the ash tray as if worried.

Felicity smiled. Jack might no longer fear anything but his mother still managed to put the fear of god into him. He gave Felicity a sharp look 

“Why yes. She's here with me now if you'd like to talk to her. I’ll put her on.” He said as he handed Felicity the phone.

“Hi Mom.” She said.

“Felicity, how is your brother who….well I don’t think I need to explain anything about how weird this is to you, but how did he become the CEO of Queen Consolidated?” Donna asked.

“He- Mr. Queen relinquished control of the company when his sister was taken. The board needed to elect a new CEO and chose Jack.”

“But why would-? Are you okay? Is anyone hurt? You know how he can be.” Donna asked.

“Mom, I know you’re excited, but you need to slow down.” Felicity wanted to tell her mother that she had no idea what was going on, that she was scared about her brother’s next move and that he clearly was up to something. But Jack was in the room and that simply wouldn’t work or end well. “I got a promotion.”

“What?”

“Jack- he promoted me when he became CEO. I’m the new head of IT.”

“I’m happy for you but- please don’t tell me you’re okay with this.”

“No, I promise I won’t let my success get to my head. I remember where I came from.” She said. “Can I call you after work? I have some projects I need to work on.”

“Please stay safe. I love your brother, but he doesn’t make great choices.”

“I love you too. Bye.”

After Felicity hung up the phone, the intercom went off again. “Mr. Jay, the office call girl is here.”

He didn't even bother to restrain a groan as Isabel stormed in, looking even angrier than usual. Felicity didn’t know that was even possible.

 

“Isabel, what an unpleasant surprise.” Felicity noticed that Harley had left the door to the office wide open.

“I need to talk to you in private.” She said, glancing distastefully towards Felicity.

“My sister being here has never stopped you before now.”

“What have you done with my office?”

“Simple. I've given it to someone who actually deserves an office. Someone who’s actually worked hard to get where they are and pulled their weight around here. Not yell at people who don't deserves it and throw temper tantrums like the self-entitled brat they are.” Jack hissed, his voice turning chillingly cold and all humour leaving it.

Then, Felicity realised why Harley left the office door open. Jack was making an example of her in front of the whole office. She also became aware that Jack's dog and two hyenas were all growling and snarling and baring their teeth at Isabel.

“How dare you-?” 

“How dare I what? Say the word “no” to you? It must have been a very long time since someone said that to you. I’m not some playboy castaway that you can just charm or intimidate. I wonder if anyone here knows why you were fired from QC in the first place. Was it just that Robert Queen got sick of tipping you or was it just your piss poor “performance” that was the problem?” While he’d been speaking, he slowly made his way over to Isabel. By now Isabel had been shocked into a stunned silence. As had the whole office. They could all hear what Jack was saying to Isabel.

“You had better buck up, right now, Missy, because things are gonna change around here. Starting with you.” He said before he blew out smoke from his cigar into Isabel’s face and eyes, by now, the dog and two hyenas were on their feet behind their master. Their growling and snarling had intensified. “I want you to apologise to my sister for how you've treated and behaved towards her. Right now.”

 Isabel turned to face Felicity. “Ms Smoak, I-.”

“I can't hear you.” Jack said in a sing-song voice.

Isabel began again. “Ms. Smoak, I apologise form my behaviour towards you and how I have treated you.”

“Hmmm not good enough. Beg for her forgiveness.”

“I beg your forgiveness.” She said, gritting her teeth.

“Still not good enough. Say please.”

“Please.”

“Say pretty please.”

“Pretty please.”

“I think you mean, pretty please with a cherry on top.”

“Pretty please with a cherry on top.” She said.

“Good girl. Very good girl.” Jack said as though he were addressing a dog. “Now, get out of my sight.”

 

Isabel left, leaving the whole office shell shocked by what they had just heard. Jack savoured the uncomfortable silence that followed like blood in the water and then turned to the shocked employees. “Don't you all have work you should be doing?”

That snapped the office out of shock and they all got quickly back to work. Jack closed the door to the office and then turned to Felicity who glared at him disapprovingly.

“Now look me in the eye and tell me that you didn't enjoy that on some level.” He grinned.

“That was totally uncalled for.”

“Oh, come on. You've wanted to see her get taken down a peg or two since she showed up and it's not like what I said wasn't true.” Then there was a knock at the door they both turned to see Bruce Wayne.

 

“Am I interrupting?” He asked.

“Not at all Mr. Wayne. As a matter of fact, you've saved me a phone call.”

“Good. By the way, I passed Ms Rochev on my way up. She seemed anger than usual. This wouldn't have anything to do with a foul-smelling box that hit the pavement as I arrived with her name on it, would it?” He asked. In reality, Bruce had overheard the dressing down Joker had given Isabel. He thought that Isabel should count herself as lucky to be alive.

“Oh, I’ve just been putting her in her place; teaching her to come to heal.” Jack answered. “Also Mr. Wayne, after much thinking, I’m afraid that I’m gonna have to end the partnership between QC and Wayne Enterprises immediately. With all the changes around here, I’m afraid we're gonna have to focus on our own projects for a while.”

“Well I'm sorry to hear that Mr. Smoak but I hope that we can do business in the future.” He said, diplomatically. He stepped forward to shake his hand, for appearances.

“At least this will keep you away from my sister.”

As they gave each other a very tight handshake, Felicity noticed that they had locked eyes with each other. It was like two wolves trying stare down each other. It was a very tense moment.

“You two can stop shaking hands now.” Felicity said.

“Oh yes. Did you hear about my sister's promotion?” Joker said, remembering she was there.

“No, I hadn’t.” Bruce was genuinely surprised.

“Yes, the new head of IT. Oliver Queen could never fully appreciate her talents. At least, not like I can.”

“Congratulations, Felicity. It seems like you've got a lot to do here, so I’ll leave you to it then.”

Jack watch him leave. “I don't know what it is about him but I hate him.”

“What? Why?”

“He just reminds me of…someone.” He answered. “Now, you’d better get to work picking out a new IT staff and I need to get to a board meeting. They’re just …. dying to meet me. Heh heh heh heh heh.” He let out a sadistic chuckle as Felicity made her way out of the room.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the new change in leadership at QC, everyone tries to adjust and find their bearings.

Felicity left Jack’s office and went to Isabel’s former office, which was now hers. The entire room had been stripped bare and the only things inside were furniture and a vase of dead roses on the desk. She looked at the vase and briefly wondered what was the deal with her brother and giving people dead flowers. She shook the thought away as soon as it crossed her mind. She had more important things to worry about.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her office door. A redheaded woman around her height stepped inside. Felicity had seen the woman around the building, but didn’t know her name. “Ms. Smoak? I have ther personnel files from HR. Your brother said you wanted to take a look at them.”

“What? Oh, thank you…I’m sorry, I don’t think I know your name.” She said apologetically.

“Casey, I’m your new EA.”

“Thank you, Casey. Please don’t call me Ms. Smoak though, it makes me think my mom’s here.” She said, taking the files.

 

Bruce walked into the foundry. Oliver, Sara and Digg were down there, sparring. It was clear that they all had a lot of pent-up energy they were trying to get out of their systems.

“You’re back awfully quick.” Sara remarked.

“Well, the Joker’s decided he doesn’t want a partnership with Wayne Enterprises anymore, and once he announced that, I didn’t have a plausible reason to stay at QC headquarters.” Bruce said.

“What happened? What did you learn? Is Felicity-?” Oliver started to ask.

“He promoted her to the head of IT. She seemed to be okay, but she was clearly uncomfortable, not that I blame her. He’s treating this whole thing as one giant ego trip. He redecorated your office to look like a throne room. He keeps showering her with gifts and he’s decided to rename the company Smoak Tech. It seems right now he’s just basking the fact that he outsmarted us. And no one’s dead yet, that I know of. I don’t know how long that will last.” He answered. “I overheard that they’ve decided to put a heavier focus on things in Applied Sciences, more specifically biochemistry.”

“Mirakuru, he’s gonna try and mass produce it.” Oliver said through gritted teeth.

“Not try, he is.” He said. “Then, there’s what happened to Isabel.”

“What happened?” Digg asked. “Aren’t they allies?”

“Slade and Isabel are. Slade and the Joker are. Joker and Isabel are not. She was mean to Felicity, and you don’t be mean to Felicity if there’s a chance her brother could find out about it.”

“She’s dead, isn’t she?” Sara asked. It was a logical conclusion to reach.

“No, I imagine that’s because Slade needs her still. She’s alive, but I’m sure he’s gonna make her wish she wasn’t. He already gave away her office, destroyed her personal effects, demoted her and reamed her out in front of everyone in the building, letting slip her past with your father.”

“What past?” Oliver asked.

“You father had an affair with her. He claimed he was going to leave your mother to be with her. Then, your sister got hurt, so he said he couldn’t. He ended things. She was fired from her internship and she’s had a grudge ever since.”

“She sided with Slade because my dad dumped her and she was fired? She’s not the first, or probably the last, woman he did that too.” Oliver loved his father, but he wasn’t perfect.

“And? As the saying goes “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. It’s a petty vendetta, but its gotten her this far.”

 

Joker followed by Harley walked along the corridor to the meeting room whilst aides handed him various reports. He let out an annoyed groan as he was handed one report after another. The one thing he hated about his new job was the paperwork. He sauntered into the meeting room grinning at the board of directors.

The board members were all seated around a long rectangular table with Joker's seat at the head of the table, another high back imposing throne like chair.

“What a new a glorious day this is for Smoak Tech. New day, new rules, new CEO. The board is assembled, let the work begin!” Joker said in a disturbingly happy mood as he walked to the head of the table. He threw the files he had just been given into the air. The papers showered the board members who didn't look very amused. No one noticed Harley as she quietly walked around the room closing and locking doors quietly.

"Oh, go on. Crack a smile. It's funny, isn't it? Albert, funny? No? Little bit? " He said, looking around the table and one member in particular.

"Very funny, Mr. Smoak but if we could get down to business, there is the matter of our reward, of which we have very little." Albert said. They had all been promised massive cash rewards by Slade for helping him become CEO of QC and they were all quite keen to be paid.

 No, no, no, no. Before we start all that, I just want to say thank you. Thank you, one and all. You ugly, fat faced bunch of wet, snivelling traitors. " He hissed. His disturbingly happy mood suddenly disappeared and his voice lost its humour. His tone became menacing and vicious. The board members looked from one to the other. Was this a joke?

"Yes, very funny. But I think-."

"No. No, that wasn't funny. You see, I'm not making myself very clear. Funny is like this.” He suddenly gave them a huge grin. "Not funny is like this.” He gave them his best impression of Batman with an angry scowl. " And right now, I'm like this because you are traitors. Yes, you are! As soon as you saw just how much Slade was offering, you abandoned your morals and you jumped on the Slade bandwagon. So, this is your reward, you'll be quite "happy" with it.” He said before he pressed a button under the table. Suddenly the conference telephone sets popped up and began spraying joker gas at the board and officials. They all began coughing and choking. Joker watched it all with a murderous grin on his face. Harley, too, was smiling.

“You're insane!” Albert sputtered before choking to death.

The Joker didn’t respond. He just watched and grinned as one by one they died, falling back into their seats. All of them with the same disturbing grin on their faces. Joker sat down in his chair at the head of the table.

“Naturally Mr. Wilson and I will not be paying any of you a dime. You’re all happy with that I see. I can see it in your faces, heh. Oh, and by the way you’re all fired, but feel free to stick around for the "festivities". I just know it will leave you with smiles on your faces.”

He put his legs up on the table and Harley walked over with two champagne glasses. She handed one to Joker and sat down on his lap and draped her legs over the arm rest of the chair. They clinked their glasses together and drank from them. “Well, Harley. Now all that's over and done with, the real fun can begin.”

“Mr. Jay, can I kill that bitch yet?”

“Unfortunately, no. She's still of some use otherwise I would’ve throttled the life out of her by now. Looks like we'll have to wait just a little longer. I want to save her for Lissy anyway.”

“But Lissy doesn’t kill.”

“Maybe not yet but after I give her a little something to make her see the happier side of life, she might.”

Harley's face lit up with sudden realisation. Joker leaned in to kiss her. “Oh no, Mr. Jay. We can't. we've got company.” Harley said giggling and pointing to the dead board members.

“Let ‘em watch.”

 

After a long, and very surreal day, Felicity went back to her apartment before heading to the foundry for the night. Today went slightly better than she expected, and by that she meant that no one died as far as she knew. She was changing into something a little more comfortable when she remembered she needed to call her mother.

“Hey Mom.” She said after her mother picked up the phone. “I think we should talk.”

“How did this happen?”

“Jack manipulated QC’s board members into putting him in charge.” She said with a sigh.

“Your brother isn’t…..he doesn’t have any business experience, he never dreamed about being a CEO. Why would he want to take over Queen Consolidated?” She asked.

“I don’t know, but I have the feeling whatever his reason is, bad things are gonna come from it. And I’ve got no idea what to do.”

Donna didn’t have any answers either.

 

Oliver, Thea and Moira were driving back from a campaign event. Thea had come to the event, but spent the whole time avoiding her mother and brother. Slade had told her the truth about her father and she was livid that they’d both kept such a huge secret from her.

“I know you’re angry. I know you both have a right to be. I shouldn’t have kept the truth from you, Thea. And I shouldn’t have browbeaten Oliver into keeping my secret for me.” Moira said. “But there’s something important I need to tell you. It’s about Malcolm. He’s-.”

Before she could finish her sentence, a car T-boned them and Oliver blacked out.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver experiences yet another loss, the team fights back in an unexpected way, and the Joker doesn't seem to care who's on his side and who isn't that much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick reminder- some events are happening out of order from canon.

“There’s only one way this night will end. We both know that, don’t we, Mr. Wilson?” Moira said. “Both my children will live.”

“Mom? What are you doing?”

“Oliver, I love you. Thea, close your eyes baby.”

“You possess true courage. Something your son does not share.” Slade said as he lowered the gun.

He drew his sword and stabbed Moira in the heart. She fell to the ground. While Thea was crying over her mother’s body, he cut the ties keeping her hostage.

“But there is still one person who needs to die.” He said as he walked off.

 

Felicity walked into the foundry. Sara and Roy both looked up hopefully before looking away when they saw her. “What’s wrong?”

“We haven’t heard from Oliver. He went to a campaign event for his mother and-.”

“Oliver’s missing?!” She said as she rushed over to her computer. She began typing furiously. Oliver’s phone wasn’t giving a signal, but maybe he was with Thea or his mother? Their phones might be on. She was about to start pinging Thea’s phone when Batman walked in looking grim, well, grimmer.

“If you’re looking for Oliver, you don’t need to. I found him.”

“Slade killed him, didn’t he?” Sara asked bluntly.

“No. He kidnapped Oliver, Thea and Moira and made Oliver choose who to save.”

“Just like Ivo did.” She said quietly. “He chose-?”

“He didn’t. Moira Queen declared that both her children would live, so he killed her.” Batman said. “When Oliver didn’t show up here, I went looking for him. I found him and Thea sobbing over her dead body.”

“Where are they both right now?” Roy asked.

“Bruce Wayne heard about what happened and offered to let them both stay in his penthouse tonight. I imagine once Thea gets settled, Oliver will come here.” He said. “If anyone knows what its like to watch a parent die and not be able to do anything about it, its him.”

As predicted about an hour later, Oliver and Diggle walked into the foundry. No one was quite sure what to say, and then Oliver spoke. “We need to stop the Joker and Slade.” He said. Felicity and Sara both opened their mouths to say something. “I know, after tonight, I shouldn’t want to- I need to do something. They both- I can’t fall apart right now. QC’s Applied Sciences is making Mirakuru or Joker Gas, or both. We need to stop them.”

“Good thing it’s all being made in the same building then.” Felicity said.

“Why is that good?” Roy asked.

“Because its easier to blow up one building than two.” She said. “Only way to stop the production is to destroy the equipment. Easiest way to do that is to level the building.”

“If we strike tonight, the building will be mostly deserted. Very little staff.” Batman said. “We’ll be able to evacuate them quickly before we blow it.”

“They’re working for Slade and Joker, why shouldn’t we just kill them?” Sara asked. “Or let them die since you’re so sensitive about it.”

“Technically, so do I.” Felicity said. “Does that mean you wanna kill me too? None of the scientists know what they’re working on. They were told it’s a new pharmaceutical.”

Oliver, who’d started looking through different drawers in the foundry, walked over holding a duffel bag. He’d packed all the C4 he could find, as well as detonators. “Let’s go then.”

“You know, you don’t have to come with us.” Batman said. “If you need to be with Thea right now-.”

“I’m the last person she wants to see right now.”

 Sneaking into Applied Sciences wasn’t difficult. As Bruce said, there was very little staff. Felicity being the CEO’s sister meant the few staff who saw her didn’t question her that much. The other knocked everyone out and dragged them free of the blast radius. After rigging all of the explosives, Oliver detonated the charges as they drove away.

 

With Moira dead, Sebastian Blood was running unopposed. The election wasn’t for a few more weeks, but some had already started referring to him as Mayor Blood. Moira’s murder was announced on the morning news and her funeral was scheduled for the following day.

The team saw Joker on the news again that same day. Once again, he was in his Jay Smoak disguise. He made a big show of touring the ruins of the Applied Sciences Center and gravely assessing the damage. The performance was Oscar-worthy. Outstanding CEO performance. He then addressed the reporters and news crews assembled.

“This will not stand. What kind of a world are we living in where people go out and destroy a center celebrating the legacy of a man who gave everything to this city? It would, however, be wrong of me to place all the blame on the group of people who did this. One other person to blame is Robert Queen's incompetent, alcoholic son Oliver Queen who appointed the inept Isabel Rochev to take charge of this.” Oliver tightened his fist when his father was mentioned but didn’t react beyond that. “Ms. Rochev who had previously been fired for having an affair with her own boss as well as other failings. Due to reasons beyond my control, I was not able to dismiss her as I would have liked. However, rested assured she will be dealt with for allowing this.” he gestured behind him to the ruins “to happen here. But someone who is most to blame for this atrocity is the mayor himself. Mayor Blood.” Oliver and the team were shocked. What was Joker up to?

“During his campaign, Mr. Blood liked to tell us about how “horrible” Starling City has become and exaggerate “horrifying” living standards of the Glades. Well, let me tell you that there are far, far worse places to live in Gotham City.  I used to live there and let me tell it is way worse than how Mayor Blood has made Starling City out to be. Terrorized by a vigilante psychopath with a bat fetish, not some William Tell wannabe in a hood with some blonde bimbo with a thing for leather.” Sara scoffed at being called a bimbo and walked over to a dummy to punch it. “And despite what the mayor would have you believe, Gotham’s Narrows are 50 times worse than the Glades. People there mugged every other day of the week, and if you don't believe me just ask Bruce Wayne.” Bruce’s reaction was a little more subdued. He started taking rapid, deep breaths when his parents were mentioned. It was clear he was trying not to get angry, or at least show his anger. “I do however find it convenient how his only opponent Moira Queen conveniently died allowing him to suddenly win the mayoral election by default and then this starts happening. I think the mayor is even more corrupt than the so called “rich elite” that he like to blame for all the city's woes from an earthquake to a cat being stuck up a tree. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was letting all this happen.” The broadcast ended.

Roy punched the table so hard he dented it. Bruce muttered that he needed to go. Sara kept hitting the dummy in front of her, and Oliver swept everything off of a table before turning to face Felicity.

“What the hell is he doing?”

“Getting even.” Felicity answered. “He just exposed Blood to anyone that was listening. He must’ve been working with Slade.”

People all over the city had seen the broadcast and were wondering what the Joker’s words had meant. Did Blood have something to do with Moira Queen’s death?


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team tries to figure out what Slade's next move will be, while he and the Joker enact their Plan B.

Once the news report ended, and Jack finished taking shots at Oliver’s family and Isabel, the team was left in silence in the foundry.

“Why do I feel like it doesn’t matter?” John asked.

“What?” Felicity asked.

“I feel like what we just did, it didn’t change anything. It’s not a huge blow to Joker and Slade like we thought it would be.”

“It’s a roadblock, a delay. That’s the best we can do for now.” Batman said.

“Or you could grow a pair and we can actually do something about it.” Roy said, looking murderous. Everyone looked at him incredulously. “No, of course not. It would be too easy that way.” He scoffed before storming upstairs.

Thea had broken up with him, he was a ticking time-bomb. There was no reason for him to stick around any longer. He should’ve left Starling weeks ago.

 

Back in his new office, the Joker was sitting back in the chair at his desk with his feet up, smoking a cigar when Slade walked in.

“You haven't wasted any time redecorating, have you?”

“I like to personalize all my stuff.” He answered. “Drink?” Slade nodded and Joker began to fix them both a drink. “With the center gone, it looks like we’ll have use plan B. The bio-transfuser. It just becomes a matter of “borrowing” it from Star Labs.”

“You read my mind.” Slade said, taking a drink. “Are you sure it's a good idea to keep your sister around here?” 

“I like to keep her where I can see her. Besides, wouldn't you want to do the same thing if it was your wife or son?” Slade looked at Joker sharply. How did he know about them? “I like to do my homework Mr. Wilson.”

Slade didn't know whether to be impressed or shocked. Just then, Blood walked into the office, fuming. “You made me look like an idiot!”  

Both Slade and Joker turned to look at Blood. Joker took a step closer to hm. “You need help looking stupid. What kind of idiot are you?” Joker responded. He tapped his cigar, letting the ash drop onto Blood’s shoes. “Oh, by the way, Scarecrow called. He wants his mask back.” Joker grinned at Blood’s look of shock. “That's right, “brother”. I know all about that. You know, if I were you, I would have set that drunk of a DA you were dating after the Arrow. Oh, wait you couldn't because of your incompetence. You set her on your own trail and now she's probably working with the Arrow again. And she’s gonna mention what she finds to her father, who happens to be a cop.”

Joker stalked over to Blood and backed him into the wall. Slade was standing to the side of the pair, blocking any exit for Blood. “Don’t forget, even now, you can still be replaced. Remember when I found you, you were nothing which is what I can return you to.”

“You can go now. We're done yelling at you.” Joker said dismissively. He then took his cigar, and put it out on Blood’s forehead. The mayoral candidate bit back a yelp. He practically ran out of the room.

After Blood left the office, he turned to Slade. “We need to start thinking about dealing with him when his usefulness has run out. Maybe even sooner. He could be thinking about trying to double cross us.”

“You have something in mind?”

“You'll see.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Joker and Slade turned to see Felicity entering the office. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Slade.

“Ah Felicity. Come in, come in. There's someone I want you to meet.” Joker said, his face lighting up when he saw Felicity. He waved her over to him and Slade and she reluctantly walked over to them.

“This is Mr. Wilson, my new business partner.” He said, putting on an act. Of course, she already knew who Slade was.

“Um, how do you do, Mr. Wilson?” She asked nervously.

“Your brother speaks very highly of you, Ms. Smoak. Nothing but praise.” Slade told her. He took her hand, giving it a very firm handshake.

“Well it's about time someone around here recognized her natural talent and genius.” Joker said proudly. “And gave her the job and position she deserves.”

“Umm, I…. came to show the list of names I have…chosen for my staff.” She told her brother. She wanted to get out of this room as soon as possible.

“Go ahead and hire them.”

“Wait, what!? Don't you want to look at the list?”

“Well, if you chose them, they must come highly recommended.” He said. “And unlike some people around here, you never fail. You actually work hard unlike some others I could mention.” As he said that, Isabel walked into the office. Joker looked pointedly at her “Oh do you still work here?”

“I better get back to work.” Felicity said, practically sprinting out of the room.

“Keep up the great work!” Her brother yelled as she left.

Isabel had just walked up the stairs from her new office in the building's sub-sub-basement because the lifts on her level were mysteriously not working. Her new office was very, very small with hardly any room to move because of all the cleaning equipment stored in the room. Equipment which the janitors were always coming in and out to get. There was also a door in the office leading to a single toilet in desperate need of cleaning and some air freshener, which the janitors were also coming in and out to use. She was pretty sure the office had rats too.

By the time she had gotten to Joker's office, she was ready to take someone's head off.

“What do you want now?”

“I want to speak to the board. Now.” She said.

“OK” He said, to her surprise. “I’ll even take you to them but I should warn you, they’re really just a bunch of grinning yes men. But they'll be happy to see you.”

They walked out of the office towards the board room with Joker leading the way. He opened the doors to the room. Isabel walked in behind him and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight that greeted her. The board of directors were all still there, dead and smiling.

“See? What did I tell you? All quite HAPPY to see you!” Joker exclaimed with a malicious smile before he began laughing psychotically. Isabel began to back out of the room then turned on her heel and left. Joker's laughter haunted her down the hallway.

 

Felicity dropped off the list of potential new hires with her assistant and told her to tell them they’d gotten the job. Assuming the city would still be standing in a few days, that is. She also knew it would be suspicious if, as soon as she left Jack’s office, she went running to Oliver. Instead, she called him and told him Joker and Slade weren’t even trying to hide their partnership anymore. She waited about half an hour before leaving the building.

She went to the foundry, where Oliver, Bruce, Digg and Sara were waiting. She explained what happened at her office and the few snippets she managed to overhear.

“How did they seem?” Bruce asked. “What mood were they in?”

“I’m sorry, but they’re both clearly insane. Who care about what they’re feeling?” Digg asked.

“I do. Because what mood they were in tells us a lot.”

“They seemed…. They weren’t acting like people who just ran into a huge obstacle.” Felicity said quietly. “Blowing up Applied Sciences seems like a minor setback for them.”

“Are you sure?” Oliver asked.

“I know my brother pretty well. Better than I wanna admit. He isn’t angry, he isn’t frustrated. He’s acting like someone who already knows they’ve won.”

“How?”

“I think they have, and have always had, a Plan B. Another lab, another location to produce the Mirakuru. Another-.” She was about to list off the other ways her brother and Slade could win but then an alert caught her attention. “Oh crap.”

“What?”

“An alarm at the Star Labs annex was just triggered.” She said, typing furiously. “You need to go, now.”

 

Caitlin and Cisco turned to see a grinning guard. They were just about to ask him why he was smiling when he keeled over dead. Then, they saw the two men that had been standing behind the guard. It was a big man dressed in black and orange armour and the Joker.

“Hi! Do you two know where we might be able to find the bio-transfuser?” The Joker asked them.

Caitlin and Cisco both screamed and Caitlin threw her clipboard at them which Slade just swatted away. They took off running.

“Wow, that was rude.” The Joker remarked. Slade moved to follow after them but his partner stopped him. “No, you get what we came for. I’ll get them.”

Slade went to find what they had come for while Joker went off in direction that Cisco and Caitlin had gone. He started calling out to them.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman and the Arrow rush to stop Slade from building his army and Felicity unwillingly takes a trip.

Caitlin and Cisco turned to see a grinning guard. They were just about to ask him why he smiling when he keeled over dead. Then, they saw the two men that had been standing behind the guard. It was a big man dressed black and orange armour and the Joker.

“Hi! Do you two know where we might be able to find the bio-transfuser?” The Joker asked them.

Caitlin and Cisco both screamed and Caitlin threw her clipboard at them which Slade just swatted away. They took off running.

“Wow, that was rude.” The Joker remarked. Slade moved to follow after them but his partner stopped him. “No, you get what we came for. I’ll get them.”

Slade went to find what they had come for while Joker went off in direction that Cisco and Caitlin had gone. He started calling out to them.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” He spotted Caitlin and changed tactics. “Marco? Polo?” They reached a door and ran inside, locking it behind them. He grabbed a fire hatchet off the wall and began hacking through the door with the axe. He could hear the girl screaming. Joker leaned up to the hole he had made with the axe. “HONEY I'M HOME!!!” He reached into the hole and unlocked the door.

They ran into a supply closet inside of the room and locked the door behind them. They were trapped. The Joker smiled, nowhere to run. He walked to the closet door and knocked on it. “Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in?” He called. “Not by the hairs on your chinny chin chins. Then, I’ll huff and I'll puff and I'll BLOW YOUR HOUSE DOWN !!!!” He cried as he began hacking at the door with axe, howling with laughter.

When the hole in the door was big enough, Joker stuck his head through it. “HERES JOKER!!!!!”

Cisco shot Joker with something he had grabbed while they were running, knocking him on to his back. The device shorted out, Caitlin and Cisco panicked. Joker just smiled before pulling the door open.

“Can I axe you something?” He said slowly, getting back up and brandishing the axe at them. 

That was when Batman arrived. He crashed through the glass ceiling above them and landed in between Cisco, Caitlin and the Joker.  “Run!” He told Cisco and Caitlin, who slowly skirted around the two men and sped out of the room.

“Batsy. Why you gotta ruin all of my fun?” Joker asked as he threw the axe he was holding at Batman.

Bruce dodged out of the way. “You think this is fun? Some game?”

“Well, I’m enjoying myself.” He answered, pulling out a gun. “Where’s William Tell?”

“Behind you.” Oliver growled as he shot a tranq arrow at him.  It hit him in the shoulder, but the Joker just pulled the arrow out and shrugged.

“Ah, diazepam. It really takes me back to my first visit to Arkham.” He said in a fond tone. “They thought it would fix me, but there was nothing to fix. He he he he.”

“Arrow. Get out of here. Stop Slade.” Batman said as he took another swing at the Joker.

“Oh, he’s long gone by now.” The faint roar of an engine grew closer. “And there’s my ride.” He shot the gun at Batman. Instead of a bullet, a flag with the word “BANG!” came out of the barrel and he threw the gun at him. Batman dodged out of the way, Oliver moved closer to intercept the Joker, blocking the door. Instead, Joker jumped out of the window and into the car Harley was driving. They sped off, laughing.

 

 The Arrow and Batman returned to the foundry, defeated. Slade had managed to steal something while they were dealing with the Joker. They didn’t know what he’d taken, but doubted whatever that the machine, whatever it was, could be used for something good. Roy had left town the day earlier, as had Sara although she never told them why she was leaving.

“I know you’ve already hacked into Star Labs system. What did they steal?” Oliver asked Felicity.

“A biotransfuser. State of the art. It can be used to transfer blood from one individual to several recipients at once.” She explained.

“So he can use it to transfer the Mirakuru serum from his own blood into his troops. All at once.”

“Maybe not “all at once” but he could transfer it to multiple people at the same time, yes.” She clarified.

“So, when he uses it, he’ll be vulnerable. Even with his enhanced durability, giving that much blood will weaken him.” Oliver reasoned.

“if he’s the person donating.” Bruce pointed out. “’Roy wasn’t the only successful subject of Cyrus Gold’s experiments. Hypothetically, he could use any of the other Mirakuru soldiers as a blood bag.”

“We need to find out where they are.” Digg said.

“I’m already on it.” Felicity said as she started typing. “The staff at Star Labs, they’re okay right? The Joker didn’t slaughter everyone, did he?”

“He killed a guard using Joker Gas. There were two other employees in the building that he was chasing after, but we managed to get them to safety.” Oliver said.

“Good. He’s my brother, so I don’t want him to die, but he’s also the Joker and- I know Sara and Roy probably think I’m a terrible person because I’m not willing to kill him but he’s my brother. What would you do if it was Thea?”

Oliver didn’t have an answer to that. Felicity was able to figure out where Slade had taken the machinery. Technology like that needed to use a lot of power, so an output spike in an abandoned building definitely caught her attention. Bruce, Oliver and John left to confront him.

At the warehouse, the trip found not Slade hooked up to the machine, but Roy. As Oliver started to remove the tubes and needles from Roy’s body, Isabel and Slade stepped into the light. They warned him that it wasn’t a good idea to remove Roy, saying it could kill him. Isabel decided to add insult to injury by revealing that Roy hadn’t even put up a fight when they’d found him in Bludhaven. Oliver shot the device, destroying the machine so that he could stop Slade without killing Roy.

“Looks like you failed to save another sidekick.” The Joker said with a laugh. “But then again, you can’t even save yourselves.”

Slade and Isabel both attacked, along with one of Slade’s masked followers. Oliver managed to knock Slade down temporarily and used the distraction to pull Roy free. He was about to throw Roy over his shoulder when Isabel shot at him, barely missing his head. Then, two shots rang out and she fell to the ground.

The Joker stood there, grinning as always. “I’ve been waiting a long time to do that.” Slade and his goon turned towards Joker, angry. “What? She was gonna kill him and you said you were the only one allowed to kill him.” He defended, gesturing to Oliver. “You’re welcome.”

Bruce, Oliver and John left, taking the unconscious Roy with them. The Joker shot at them, but didn’t put much effort into aiming. He wasn’t quite done having fun with Batman or the Arrow just yet.

The heroes met back at the foundry, where Oliver decided to keep Roy sedated until a cure for Mirakuru could be developed. He had Felicity send a sample to Star Labs, while Bruce sent another sample to someone at Wayne Enterprises named Lucius Fox.

 

Felicity got home around dawn. She unlocked the door to her apartment and walked inside. As soon as she was a few feet inside of the room, she could sense something was wrong. She wasn’t alone.

“Finally! I’ve been waiting here for hours, Lissy.” Harley exclaimed. “What have you been doing, out at this hour?”

“Harley, what are you doing here?” She asked

“C’mon.” Harley said, grabbing her arm. She had a friendly tone, but her grip on Felicity’s arm told her she didn’t have a choice about coming with her. “Mister J has a surprise for you.” She pulled Felicity out of the room and led her down to a waiting car.

 

Felicity felt nervous sitting in this car. She was wearing a blindfold and going somewhere with Harley. She was terrified, but if she could find out something for Oliver and Bruce about what Slade and Jack were up to, it might be worth it. The car stopped and Harley helped Felicity out before she took off the blindfold.

“SURPRISE!!!” Jack exclaimed with his hands outstretched. He was standing in front of Queen mansion. Neither he or Harley were wearing their disguises as no one could see them.

“Queen mansion?” Felicity asked uncertainly.

“No Smoak mansion now. I own it.” He corrected, walking towards the mansion followed by Felicity and Harley.

“But what about Oliver?” Felicity asked. She was worried about what was going to happen to Oliver and Thea. Where were they going to live?

“What about him? He survived on an island. He can survive the mean streets of Starling.”  When Jack reached the doors, he kicked them open. “Ta-da! What do you think of your new home?”

 “Wait, what? You want to give this to me?” Felicity asked, taken aback. She was flattered but she couldn't take Oliver’s home.

“Oh, don't worry. It will look a lot better once I get this crap cleared out.” Joker said, picking up a picture of the whole Queen family before throwing it over his shoulder where it smashed into a million pieces on the wall.

“Listen, Jack, I know, in your own way, you’re just trying to be nice to me. But this is too much I mean-.”

“But wait, there's more!” He cut her off. “I’m going to take you to a party that me and Mr. Wilson are throwing. A huge party tomorrow night and you are invited. Trust me its gonna turn this town upside down.”


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Joker puts his plans into motion, he and Felicity share a happy memory, Oliver confronts Blood and Batman calls in reinforcements.

After her brother told her about the “party” he and Slade were throwing, Felicity excused herself saying she needed to use the bathroom. She did feel like she was going to be sick, but more than that, she needed to be away from her brother for a little bit. He and Slade were going to destroy the city, if not worse, and he called it a party. She wasn’t surprised by her brother’s behaviour, but that didn’t make her any less disgusted by it.

Harley had taken Felicity’s phone, so she couldn’t reach out to Oliver, Bruce or anyone else for help. She’d think about escaping and telling the team what she knew later. Right now, she just wanted to keep herself from being sick as she thought about what Joker and Slade were very close to achieving.

 

“Still no word?” Diggle asked Oliver as he hung up with phone with a scoff for the third time.

Felicity was supposed to call or at least text them when she got home. The city was a lot more dangerous now than it normally was and given her connection to the Joker, the blonde was a lot less safe than an average person.

“No. Her phone must be off.” He answered. “Or she left it in another room.”

“Felicity Smoak never turns her phone off.” Bruce said. “She never leaves it in another room. She’s never so careless that she’d let the battery die on her. She’s never more than a foot away from her phone. This is because of what happened the night her brother became the Joker. She thinks if she hadn’t left her phone in her dorm room, if she’d had it with her, somehow, things would’ve gone differently.”

“So, if Felicity never goes anywhere without her phone, what does that mean?”

“Someone took her. Probably her brother.” He said. “I’m going to call a friend.”

Oliver bit back his mean response of “you have friends”, since now certainly wasn’t the time. Batman pressed something on the side of his cowl and began speaking. “Oracle, I need your help. Nightwing and Red Robin’s too. You need to get to Starling as soon as possible.” He hung up as Oliver was about to leave the foundry. “Where are you going?”

“To find Felicity.” He said.

“If I can’t find the Joker, knowing everything I know about him, I don’t think its likely you’ll do any better.”

“I don’t know how to find the Joker, but he did basically shout from the rooftops that Sebastian Blood is working with him.”

“You can’t trust-.”

“Felicity’s told me a lot about her brother since you came. She said the most annoying thing about him, both before and after he became the Joker, was the fact that he rarely lies. He twists the truth, he omits certain details, but he doesn’t lie very often.” He said. “And I might not be an expert on him, but you can’t tell me he wouldn’t out one of his own allies if it suited his plan. Which you and Felicity both keep saying isn’t Slade’s plan.”

“If you want to confront Blood, I won’t stop you.” Bruce said. He thought it was a waste of time, but if Oliver wanted to go down that particular rabbit hole, he certainly wasn’t going to stop him.

 

“Lissy, this is a happy occasion. Why do you look like someone just kicked your dog?” Harley asked a frowning Felicity who was sitting in the dining room of Queen Mansion, picking at her food. If anything, Felicity’s face turned more angry and she was now openly glaring at the two others in the room.

“Don’t bring up dogs, poo, Felicity doesn’t have the best history with them.” Joker stage-whispered.

“You did worse than just kick a dog. Mom got us a puppy and you corrupted it.” Felicity spat.

“As I recall, you were rather fond of Cujo too.”

Cujo had been a large and at first glance, a friendly and good-natured St. Bernard that their mom had gotten them when he was still a small cute puppy.

Joker put his fork down, reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He then pulled out a picture which he showed to Harley. It was a picture of an massive   St. Bernard next to a little smiling girl in a flower dress. Kneeling next to the dog and Felicity was their young mother. However, there was also a dark haired boy standing just behind the dog petting it's head with a thin-lipped smile. Even then, there was something not quite right about Jack

“Aw! How cute!” Harley squealed.

“Yeah, he was a great dog.” Jack said fondly.

“Up until mom brought a boyfriend home.”

Whenever their mom had brought a boyfriend home, Cujo would change completely, becoming vicious and murderous attack dog who wouldn't stop until the “intruder “ left. He would bite and bark at them to drive them off. Felicity still to this day didn't know how Jack had done it, but she did remember that when they had first gotten Cujo, Jack had spent a lot of time “playing” with the little puppy. Jack had also gotten to name him too. He had named the dog after some book he had read. At the time, Felicity was too young to understand the name meaning and Donna wasn’t familiar with that Stephen King novel. Like Felicity, Jack was a prodigy and able to read books way too advanced for most kids his age, like the works of Stephen King.

Felicity remembered all too well how Jack had left a copy of IT lying around for her to find and read. It had been terrifying. Then, she went to bed and had heard something moving in her closet. Scared and shaking, little Felicity walked over to the closet.

She opened it to reveal Jack dressed in a bright red suit with green shirt and bright yellow waist coat. His hair was dyed green and he was wearing clown make-up and holding a bright red balloon. He had grinned at her and said “Hiya Lissy! Don't cha want a balloon?”

Felicity screamed which Jack had found funny, until their mom arrived wondering what was going on. She yelled at him for scaring his sister, which he didn’t like and the smirk fell off his face.

“Whatever happened to Cujo?” Harley asked, snapping Felicity and Jack both out of the memory.

Joker's face darkened. He picked up his wine glass and downed it. Felicity swallowed hard. Even now, it was quite painful for both of them.

“One day, Cujo was chasing a wild rabbit in the fields around our house and a rabid bat bit him on the nose. He contracted rabies from a bat bite. He had to be put to sleep.” Joker answered.

“Oh, Mr. Jay. I’m so sorry!” She responded, hugging him.

They had all been devastated by the loss of Cujo. Their mom's then-boyfriend had made the mistake of making a comment that at least with the dog gone he could get in and out of the house now. Donna had been furious and had kicked him out on the spot,

Felicity had caught the look in Jack’s eyes as he had glared at the idiot. It was the same look he had given Andy. The next day, they had gotten a visit from the police. Apparently, someone had put a firework up the exhaust of the man's car. It had gone off when the car had started up. He hadn't been killed but he was in hospital with bad burns.

The police officer had wanted to ask Jack questions but Donna wouldn't hear of it. She didn’t know why they seemed to think Jack would be able to get his hands on fireworks.

As she'd gotten older, there was no question in Felicity's mind that it had been Jack who had done it.

“I loved Cujo, he was a sweet dog, and then you corrupted him. And when you were in Arkham, you mailed me pictures of Cujo after he was put down.” Felicity said. “Or, I guess that was really you, Harley.”

“It was a bad metaphor. Point remains, why do you seem sad?” Harley asked.

“If you don’t like the food the chef made,” Joker said, gesturing to the steak, lobster and other rich foods that was laid out on the table, “I can always kill the chef.”

The blonde didn’t respond. Instead, she stood up and stormed out of the room. The house was under guard, so she couldn’t leave. That didn’t mean she couldn’t get as far away from her brother and his girlfriend as possible.

 

Oliver met Sebastian Blood for an early dinner. The newly elected mayor sat down and started giving Oliver his condolences for Moira. A waiter offered them champagne, but both men waved him off without looking at the man. Blood then started telling him about his plans to make the city better. When the archer had listened to enough, he finally spoke.

“Do you really think that he will let that happen?” He said. Blood gave him a confused look. “Slade Wilson.” He elaborated. “Or the Joker. Either of them.”

“How do you know I’ve been working with Slade Wilson, or that Slade’s working with the Joker?”

“Because I’m the Arrow.”

“Of course.” Blood said, shaking his head. “It all makes sense now.” He recounted when he’d first met Oliver and how Oliver told him together, they could save the city.

“You think there’s going to be a city to be saved after you unleash Slade’s Mirakuru army? Or after the Joker is done with whatever he’s planning?”

The waiter offered champagne again, and was igored. He walked over to the table next to them, causing Blood to lower his voice.

“They’ll only cause enough damage to make the city ready.” He then told Oliver his plan, How the damage would make the citizen wants to follow him in his vision of a better city. They’d follow him after he helped them survive the storm.

“You’re a pawn in a much larger game. He’s going to destroy this city, and you will be remembered as the idiot who hand-delivered it to him.” Oliver said. “And none of your vision, none of your plans, take the Joker into account.”

“Slade has the Joker under control.”

“No one has the Joker under control. The Joker can’t be controlled.”

“And here I thought you didn’t have a brain.” The waiter said, spinning around to face them. The Joker stood there. He was wearing a fake moustache. His hair was dyed black and he’s combed it back. When he spoke prior to this, he’d put on a bad French accent. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a tape recorder. “I don’t think I could’ve staged a better confession. Thanks for that, Robin Hood.” He smirked and walked off.

Oliver followed after him. “Where is she? Where’s Felicity?”

“She’s the one person in this city that you shouldn’t be worried about.” He smirked. “I’ll tell her you asked how she was doing. I need to go, there’s a party I just can’t miss.”

 

Felicity was in Hell. Sure, she was Jewish and didn’t believe in Hell, but as she stood there next to Harley at the “party” Slade and the Joker were throwing, she was starting to rethink that belief. Slade was about to unleash his army. The Joker was about to unveil his master plan, and they were celebrating something that would kill hundreds if not thousands. If Hell existed, this was it. Trapped in QC’s boardroom, with the dead board members and a bunch of her brother’s henchmen.

“I have to say, this view is spectacular. You’ll be able to see everything from up here as the city, and everyone in it, is destroyed.” Isabel said from behind her. “Surprised to see me, I take it.”

“Isn’t there a bunny you should be boiling?” Harley asked before devolving into a fit of giggles. “That’s what spurned lovers do, right? Or did you already do that?” The more time she was forced to spend around Isabel, the more Harley was convinced the movie _Fatal Attraction_ was based off of her.

“Your friends will all be dead by dawn.” Isabel gloated.

“I thought I smelled garbage.” The Joker said, entering the room. “This is an upscale affair. We have no use for call girls. Get out.” Isabel, who now had the Mirakuru and was tired of this treatment, moved forward to confront him. “What are you gonna do? You gonna hit me? Try to kill me? If Batman couldn’t, you don’t stand a chance, but go ahead. I wanna see how long you last.” He mocked.

“Isabel.” Slade’s voice boomed. “Time to go. Time for this to end.”

Felicity was still looking out of the window as an army of men, all masked and wearing identical clothing, poured out of the building and onto the streets.

“Now that the riff-raff is gone. We can have fun.” The Joker said. He looped his arm through Harley’s, before doing the same with Felicity’s and leading them out of the room and then out of the building.

 

Oliver returned to the foundry to find Digg waiting for him.

“Find anything?”

“Blood is working with Slade and Joker, but he's delusional. He thinks the Joker can be controlled.”

“We are running out of time man. And without Roy, Sara and Felicity, we’re gonna need all help we can get.”

“Good thing I brought some.” A voice called out.

They turned to see Batman and two young men standing there.

“This is Nightwing.” Batman said, nodding to the taller one who wore a cowl-like domino mask, and a black and blue suit. It was made with Nomex fire-resistant, triple-weave Kevlar-lined material. It was an excellent protection against damage, and was also insulated against electricity. He had long, dark hair. “And this is Red Robin.” Batman nodded to the second one, who wore a black domino mask. His costume consisted of a long-sleeved red shirt, along with black boots, tights, gloves, and a black feather like cape and cowl. It also includes a black-and-gold utility belt with other utility storage devices crossing over the chest in an "X" shape, meeting at a circular Red Robin insignia.

“So that's Robin.” Digg said.

“No, well, yes We were both Robin at one point, but not the one you’re thinking of.” Nightwing explained.

“Then, where is Robin?”

“With his mother. It's a long story.” Bruce answered, with a finality in his tone.

“And where's this Oracle you were talking to?” asked Oliver.

“I couldn't make the trip but I will be helping you from Gotham.” A female voice said, seemingly coming from behind them, but no one was there.

Oliver and Digg looked around to see where the voice was coming from and realized it was coming from the computer screen.

“I don't know whether Felicity would be angry, impressed or both.”

“Trust me, just doing this was ALOT harder than it looked.” Oracle said.

Oliver turned to face Batman. “Thank you “ 


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Siege begins, the Joker throws a wrench into everyone's plans, whether friend or foe.

“Okay, I don’t wanna have to be the one to say it, but where do we even start?” Diggle asked after he and Oliver had been introduced to Nightwing, Red Robin and Oracle.

“Looks like a bunch of people in orange and black masks just came pouring out of what used to be Queen Consolidated.” Oracle remarked. “I’d start there.”

“What about him?” Oliver pointed to Roy, who was still sedated on the table. “And Felicity?”

“I already called Alfred.” Bruce answered. “And Felicity’s with the Joker, unfortunately, but that also means she’s safe from what Slade’s doing.”

“I’m not worried about what _Slade_ might do.” He said.

Everyone kept insisting the Joker wouldn’t hurt Felicity, but pain was relative. Their belief also didn’t take into account that her brother could hurt her without realizing it or acknowledging it. If he thought he was helping her, or protecting her, then he wouldn’t admit that what he’d done hurt her. Oliver wanted Felicity to be safe, but he also knew the city needed to come first.

Alfred stepped into the foundry and walked over to where Roy lay unconscious while greeting Batman and his wards. “I assure you, Mr. Harper will be taken care of.”

“These guys are crazy strong, fast and durable and you have some pretty strict rules about what you’re willing to allow. How are we gonna stop them without killing them?”

Nightwing smirked as he picked up a case that was resting at his feet. “We made a pitstop at Wayne Enterprises before we came here.” Inside the case, there were about half a dozen vials of a blue liquid. “It won’t take down all of them, but-.”

“It’s better than what we had an hour ago.” Oliver said. “Let’s go.”

“Wait, shouldn’t we…see if it works first?” Red Robin asked while looking at Roy’s prone form. “Just a suggestion.”

Reluctantly, Oliver removed one of the vials and handed it to Alfred to inject Roy with. He was still unconscious, but the butler promised to inform them of any relevant updates.

With that, Oliver, Digg, Batman, Nightwing and Red Robin left the foundry. Digg was heading in the same direction as them when Bruce stopped him. “There’s something we need you to do.” He said. “Go to ARGUS. Convince Waller to give us time.”

“What are you-?”

“Amanda Waller’s never met a problem she couldn’t solve with a drone strike.” Bruce said. “She probably has the drone already in route. You need to hold her off.”

Digg reluctantly admitted that Batman had a point, and left to head to ARGUS. The others continued towards where the army had last been seen. Oracle reported that the crowd had dispersed and the soldiers were now attacking at random in small groups.

 

They rounded a corner in the Glades and found themselves getting shot at. There were a group of six soldiers, waiting for them. Batman, Nightwing and Red Robin split up to fight a soldier each, while Oliver focused on the person in the middle who seemed to be leading them.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” A woman in a black and orange mask said. By her tone alone, Oliver knew it was Isabel. She unsheathed her sword and swung. “For revenge.”

“Because my father dumped you?” He responded, dodging out of the way.

“Because your family took what was rightfully mine.” She said. “It’s too bad Slade killed your mother before I could. I guess your sister will have to do.”

They fought for a while, with Isabel trying harder and harder to hit Oliver, while he kept dodging out of the way. He wasn’t able to get a clean shot in to dose her with the cure, even though he wasn’t sure it would work. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nightwing was about to get blindsided, so Oliver shot the only dose of the cure that he had at Dick’s opponent.

“Okay, two things.” Oracle said. “One, Roy’s awake and the cure works. Which is good because two, I just intercepted a message from Star Labs that they have a courier in route with more of it.”

“Good to know.” Oliver said, moving to push past Isabel.

Seeing him about to walk away, she grew livid. “Don’t you dare-!” Before she could finish, he shot her with an ensnarement arrow, restraining her.

“What’s the courier’s location?” Oliver asked, following after Batman.

 

“I’ve just had word back from Isabel.” said Slade walking back into the boardroom as Joker popped the cork of a bottle of champagne, letting the cork fire into the glass wall shattering it and causing Joker to chuckle.

“She failed to stop the Arrow and Batman, no doubt.” said Joker as he began pouring the champagne into glasses.

“There's more. They weren't alone. They had back-up from Gotham.” Slade informed him.

That got Joker's attention. Felicity's too. She sat on a chair by the window, but she didn't let her interest show. She just continued to look out the window but listened in on Slade and Jack's conversation. Her brother turned to face Slade.

“Really? They've flown a long way from their nest, then. Let's hope they don't end up like the last one who flew too far.” He said, with a sinister smile.

Curiosity got the better of Slade. “What happened to him?”

“He flew too far from the nest after a big and very bad wolf, and learned a lesson he didn't live long enough to profit from. Hehehe.” He responded nastily. He finished pouring the champagne. When he finished, he took a huge swig from the bottle before throwing it over his shoulder where it smashed against the wall. “I think it's time to get the party started, I see no reason to delay any longer.” He handed a glass to Harley.

He offered a glass to Slade too, but Slade held up a hand. “No, not until I have achieved final victory over Oliver Queen.”

“Suit yourself.” He offered another glass to Felicity, but she shook her head. “It's getting so only me and Harley know how to have a good time. Oh, never mind.” He said as he pulled out a cigar and a remote detonator. He checked his wristwatch and smiled. It was finally 9:00 pm. He put the cigar in his mouth and lit it, then pulled out the antenna of the detonator and picked up a champagne glass. “Let's start this party with a BANG!” He clinked his glass with Harley’s as he pressed the red button on the detonator.

All across Starling, huge explosions broke out. Roads, bridges and tunnels all exploded rendering them useless. No way out of the city and no way in.

Thea walked towards the train station when she was suddenly flung backwards when the train station exploded. She was knocked to the ground.

Officer Lance was sitting at his desk. Another police officer started to ask a question when suddenly an explosion went off, sending police officers, chairs and tables flying. They barely had time to recover when they were attacked by a man in a black and orange mask.

At City Hall, Sebastian Blood was trying to convince the people of Starling, including Kate Spencer, to stay calm when a huge explosion tore through the room, sending Blood and everyone else flying.

Isabel was driving back to QC when she was caught in the explosions. They sent her car rolling over. It finally came to a stop upside down. Isabel kicked the door out. She didn't know how but she was sure that this was Joker's fault.

There was an explosion at Iron Heights prison, blowing a massive hole in the prison's wall and causing a power outage. The outage caused the prison cell doors to open, allowing the inmates to escape and find several crates of weapons conveniently left for them to find. The inmates then turn towards Starling.  

There were massive explosions at the city's power plants plunging the city into darkness. A city-wide blackout added to the chaos.

Back at QC, Felicity watched horrified as the explosions tore through the city and the city burned.

"They say Nero sang as he watched Rome burn. Now I understand why. If only Shado were here to witness this." Slade remarked.

Joker blew out some smoke from his cigar and smiled. “Well I know a song that I think you may like to hear.” He began to sing “Smile even though it's breaking. When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by. If you smile through your fear and sorrow, smile and maybe tomorrow, you’ll see the sun come shining through for you. Light up your face with gladness, Hide every trace of sadness. Although a tear may be ever so near. That's the time you must keep on trying Smile, what's the use of crying. You'll find that life is still worthwhile- If you just smile. That's the time you must keep on trying Smile, what's the use of crying. You'll FIND that life is still worthwhile- If you just smile.”

Felicity wasn't surprised to hear Jack sing that song. It had been his favorite as a boy. Sometimes Felicity would see Jack singing it as he practiced smiling in the bathroom mirror which had been something he had used to struggle with as a boy. There were even times when she saw him put his fingers in his mouth pulling it into a smile sad tears rolling down his face.

 

Oliver and the others raced towards the West Bridge. Oracle had told them she was tracking Star Lab’s courier’s location before the bridges were blown up and power went out. The bridge was the last known location of the van. With the power out, the phone lines were down and she wasn’t able to get ahold of the courier.

“I see it!” Red Robin declared, running faster. “It’s right behind that red truck.” He rushed over to the overturned van, wanting to get the cure as quickly as possible. He rounded the corner to the driver’s side and was met with a sickening sight. The courier’s head had been blown apart and one hand was missing. A few feet away lie a dead Mirakuru soldier. “Someone beat us here. It’s gone.”

In his office, Sebastian Blood looked between the vials of chemicals in the case, and the view of the burning city from his window. This wasn’t how he imagined Slade’s plan would go.

 

Back at QC, Joker and Harley were waltzing with each other as the city burned. Just then Isabel returned. Harley and Joker broke apart. His face fell when he saw her.

“Oh, you’re still alive. How disappointing.” He was hoping that she would get caught in the explosions but she had survived again.

“We have a problem.”

“We have one or you do?”

“Blood has the cure.”

“And you wasted time coming here to tell us instead of going after it. You failed us yet again.” Isabel stormed away in a huff. “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” He turned to Harley. “Take Lissy back to Smoak Mansion and wait for me there.”

“Yes, Mr J.”

 “What are you gonna do?” Slade asked.

“Remember the insurance policy I took out?”

“Yes. What are you gonna do with it?”

“Let's just say that if our heroes want to see Mr. Mayor for that cure, they’re gonna have to make an appointment because soon, A LOT of angry people gonna want to give the mayor a piece of their mind. They’re gonna be out for... hehehe...BLOOD.” He turned to leave but not before he took out a phone from his jacket. “But first, I have to make a phone call.”

 

“You can’t do this.” Digg yelled at Waller. With Lyla’s help, he’d made it into Waller’s control room without being stopped. “Half a million people live here. You can’t just blow them up.”

“576,000. None of whom deserve to die, Mr. Diggle.” Waller countered. “But I have to think about people every city. Slade and his army alone are a clear and present danger. I can’t afford to-.”

Suddenly Digg's phone went off. He answered it, thinking it could be Oliver or one of the others. Maybe he had an update that would make Waller rethink her “bomb the city” strategy.

“RING RING! Joker here!” The Joker announced in a chilling voice.

John's eyes widened in shock.  “How did you get this number?” He needed to keep Joker talking.

“Listen, Diggy, even though you never call and never write, I’ve still got a soft spot for you. I was wondering if you could deliver a message to Waller for me.”

“What is it?”

“Tell her goodbye from me.” He said enigmatically before hanging up.

 John was just about to tell Waller and Lyla what had happened when he heard a beeping noise. Then, realization dawned on him. “GET DOWN !!!” He yelled, pushing Waller and Lyla to the ground. He shielded them as an explosion ripped through the ARGUS control room.

Slowly Digg, Lyla, Waller and the agents who hadn't been killed or injured got up. Then they heard movement outside.

“The prisoners!” Waller yelled, realizing the ARGUS prisoners had gotten loose. With the control room destroyed, there was no way to stop them.

 

After Oliver, Bruce, Dick and Tim found the courier but no cure, they decided to head towards QC. Slade was operating out of the office. The Joker was last seen there. It seemed like the smartest place to head. A few miles away, Oliver’s phone rang.

“You were right.” Blood said as soon as he answered. “This isn’t- this wasn’t what was supposed to happen.”

“I did try to warn you.”

“I know. I have the cure. I’m willing to trade it.”

“Trade it for what?”

“Making sure I don’t die as soon as Slade finds me.” He said. “I’m at City Hall.”

 

TVs and radios across Starling came back to life, but only Joker's chilling voice could be heard. “People of Starling City, listen to what your mayor has to say.” Joker then played the audio clip of Blood's confession.

“They’ll only cause enough damage to make the city ready.” Blood could be heard saying, clear as day. “Ready for my vision.”

The recording ended and the Joker spoke again. “Now I’m not a retributionist but I think some mob justice is in order. In fact, if I were you I’d get over the City Hall and tear the place apart and then tear the mayor apart.”

The message ended but the audio clip of Blood’s confession played again on a continuous loop.

“What the hell is he doing?” Oliver asked Batman.

“If there's an angry mob trying to kill Blood, we won't be able to find the cure.” They turned away from QC and rushed to City Hall, hoping to get there before the angry mob could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a link to the song joker sings which you may recognize
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmnrdd3LrRY


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The siege continues, and the Joker has one more trick up his sleeve

Blood stared in horror at the riot scene outside City Hall. An angry mob was throwing rocks and bricks at building which was now largely abandoned. Most of the staff either were dead or abandoned Blood after the truth had been made public. Those in the angry mob that weren't throwing things at the building were trying to break down the doors to get inside.

“No offense but I think your approval rating is pretty much through the floor.” A voice sneered.

Blood turned to see Joker leaning against the doorway to the mayor's office. His arms were crossed and he was smirking at him.

“YOU!” Blood yelled, lunging at Joker but Joker was quicker. He side-stepped Blood and punched him in the stomach flooring him and the joker began kicking him.

“You’re good, Blood, but you’re no Batman.” He then picked Blood up by his hair and slammed him face-first into the window causing it to crack.  “Take a good look at your precious city. It will be a ruin by morning thanks to you, and everyone knows it. This city hates you; your legacy will be one of death and destruction. You will be the most hated mayor in Starling history.” He turned Blood around to face him, slamming him against the window again causing it the crack more. “Where's the cure?” He asked before punching him in the face and kept punching. Then Joker noticed he was looking at a box on his desk. “Ah! Thank you.” He said before slamming Blood against the window. This time, it shattered. Joker dangled Blood out of the window. “Time to meet your public, Mr. Mayor.” He said before letting go of him and letting him fall to his death. He was absorbed by the angry mob who tore his body apart.

Joker turn back inside, smoothing out his suit as he walked over to the desk. Suddenly, an arrow flew across him. He pulled out his gun and turn to see Arrow, Batman, Nightwing and Red Robin.

“Get away from the desk, Joker.” Arrow growled. “Where’s Blood?”

“You just missed his “fall from grace.”

“This isn't funny.” Nightwing said.

“Oh, Bird Boy, you’re so much less fun now. All grown-up and in your big boy pants.”

“We WILL stop you.” Red Robin insisted.

“Careful little Robin, the last little birdy who threatened me learned a lesson he didn't live long enough to profit from.” He said darkly. “Mind you “someone” was supposed to save him.”

Batman’s fist tightened. 

“We have you outnumbered.” Oliver pointed out.

“Oh dear, what am I to do? BOYS!” Suddenly the doors to the office flew open revealing Mirakuru soldiers. “GRAB THE CURE KILL THE HEROES.”

The Joker sat back in Blood’s chair and put his feet up on the desk. He grinned as the four soldiers stormed over to where the heroes were. The tallest one made his way over to Batman, pulling an arm back as he moved. Bruce dodged out of the way and removed a tazer-like device out of his utility belt. The charge wasn’t enough to knock out his opponent, but it did manage to slow him down.

Nightwing and Red Robin were fighting back-to-back against two Mirakuru soldiers. Batman had taught them to always be looking for a weakness to exploit in an enemy, regardless of how outmatched they seemed to be. It didn’t take long for either man to realize that Slade’s army might be strong, but they weren’t very fast. The pair’s tactic was to avoid getting hit by any blows, while inflicting as many jabs as possible. This method had the added benefit of annoying the goons, which led to them making more errors.

As soon as a Mirakuru soldier took a step towards Oliver, the archer began firing arrows at him. He caught one, and threw it back at Oliver, who barely avoided getting hit by it. He then started firing more. He shot tranquilizer arrows, and arrows that imitated a taser and ones that were explosive. Other than annoy the man, they didn’t have any effect. Oliver was saving his injection arrows until after they had the cure, so soon enough, the only arrows he had left, that he was willing to use, were his normal, run-of-the-mill ones. He nocked an arrow, aimed at the only bit of skin he could see and fired it. It hit its mark and blood began pouring out of the man’s eye socket. He fell forward and the arrow was pushed through the back of his skull.

“Cheater!” Joker shouted and stood up from his chair, which got everyone’s attention. Bruce, Nightwing and Red Robin used the distraction to knock out their opponents. Joker, however, didn’t notice, glaring at Oliver. He moved away from the desk, towards the dead body. More importantly, he moved away from the case containing the cure. “You killed him. That’s cheating. You’re supposed to defeat them without killing.” He sighed. “Batsy’s doesn’t like that. BOYS!” He yelled and more soldiers ran in.

Nightwing and Red Robin threw one of the unconscious soldiers towards them.  Before moving towards the window. Oliver followed suit. Batman used the bat-claw to grab the case containing the cure.

“STOP THEM!” Joker shouted, shooting after them as they ran out of the office.

The team then jumped out a window. Arrow used a grappling hook arrow to zipline across to another rooftop while Batman and Red Robin used their capes to glide. Nightwing used fabric between the legs and under the arms to glide.

Joker and his henchmen got to the window and shot after them. “Where do they get those wonderful toys?” He sighed.

Then, his phone rang. It was Slade. “Report.”

“Blood is dead but the caped do-gooders have the cure.”

“Get back here then.”

Joker hung up the phone and then went back to the mayor's office. He lit a match and threw it on the desk, letting everything catch fire.

“And me without my fiddle.” He said before turning to his henchmen. “Come on boys. Back to QC.”

 

With the cure in hand, Oliver and the others needed to find a secure place to open the case and load the cure into arrows. They were running down one of the side streets towards Verdant when Batman suddenly stopped. Dick and Tim stopped as well. “What on Earth are you-?”

Bruce threw a batarang towards a shadow, but it didn’t hit anything. Instead, Nyssa stepped forward holding the projectile.

“Is this how you greet your allies?”

“You aren’t my ally.” Bruce said. Nyssa wasn’t as bad as her sister, in his eyes, but that didn’t mean he trusted her at all.

“Most nights, you would be correct, but not tonight.” She said.

“And you look like you could use all the help you can get.” Sara pointed out.

“You wanna help? Fine. But we do this my way.” Bruce said. “No killing.”

“The League does not take prisoners.” Nyssa insisted.

“Yes, it does. Despite what your father would have you believe.”

They went to Verdant, where Roy was awake and looked ready for revenge. Alfred helped them load the cure into Oliver’s injection arrows, and a few spare syringes, just in case. While they prepared, Sara and Bruce debated where Slade and the Joker would be. Bruce insisted it would be QC, while Sara was certain Slade would want to be close to the edge of town so that he could make his escape. They continued to arguing.

“That’s easy. Queen Consolidated.” Oliver said, cutting in.

“What makes you say that?”

“Slade wants to revel in watching me fail, and Joker wants to watch the chaos. QC’s the best place to do that.” He said. “Blood told me, the first time we met, that from my office, you could almost ignore the destruction my mother caused.”

“Mr. Queen and the Detective are correct.” Nyssa spoke up. “Slade Wilson is using his former office as their base of operations.”

“Well, that’s one- where’s Felicity?” Sara asked, finally noticing that Felicity was nowhere to be found.

“We don’t know. The Joker took her.” Oliver answered angrily as he walked out.

The group went to QC. Oliver, Sara, and Roy were going to attack directly, while the others infiltrated from another rooftop. A few soldiers were guarding the elevators, but once they were shot with the cure, there was nothing stopping Oliver and the others from getting into the elevator or heading to the top floor.

Another soldier tried to stop them when they stepped out, but he was injected with the cure as well. Oliver looked around in shock. He couldn’t believe what Joker had done to his office. It looked completely unrecognizable. He looked over to the conference room and found the rotting bodies of the board members still sitting in their chairs. Oliver wondered how long they must’ve waited before killing them. He shook his head, they weren’t a priority right now.

“I take it you don’t like the décor.” Slade said from his spot behind Joker’s desk. Isabel stood smirking behind him. “You must have quite a bit of faith in this cure if you’ve come alone.”

“We didn’t.” Sara said as Nyssa and her assassins, along with Batman and his sidekicks, crashed through the windows.

Seeing himself outnumbered, Slade jumped out of the window while his men fought them off. Isabel unsheathed her sword and attacked Oliver.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been looking forward to this!” She shouted as she swung. “Everytime I’ve seen your smug face, I’ve dreamed about-.”

Isabel’s tirade was cut off when BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Then, click, click, click. She fell to the ground dead.

After she fell, Oliver saw the Joker standing there with a grin.  “If at first you don't succeed try, try, try, try and try and try until they’re dead.” he said before running off after Slade.

Oliver needed to help the others incapacitate the remaining soldiers, so by the time he could’ve followed after the Joker, he was already gone.

 

Slade’s army tried to escape the city through the tunnels. He must’ve warned them about what Waller’s response to the Mirakuru army would be, because they all seemed to head for the tunnels at once. Speaking of Waller, no one had heard from Diggle since he left to talk to her. Oliver hoped he was making some headway in convincing her. Batman asked Oracle to get a status report from Digg as they headed towards the tunnel.

The army reached the end of the tunnel and found it unpassable. Clearly, none of them had known, or they’d forgotten, about Joker’s plan to blow up all of the bridges and tunnels in Starling, making it impossible for the government to send any troops in, but it also meant Slade couldn’t get his forces out of the city. With their only exit blocked, they were forced to turn around, and ran right into Oliver, Bruce and the others.

“No kill shots.” Oliver reminded everyone. “Let the cure do its work.”

The two opposing sides rushed towards each other. inside of the tunnel was mayhem. Arrows were flying all over the place. Fighters on both sides kept getting thrown into cars. Everyone was going to have bruises the next day. They didn’t know who was the last soldier to be cured, since one minute, everyone was fighting and the next, the Mirakuru forces were all on the ground, convulsing.

“What now?”

“Slade’s still our there. So’s the Joker. We gotta deal with them.” Oliver said. His phone suddenly rang. He didn’t recognize the number but he knew who it was. “It’s over Slade. Your army’s broken.”

“And once again, you’ve missed the point.” He said, before going on to reveal he had Laurel and would kill her if he didn’t meet him where he said.

Oracle traced the call and told Oliver exactly where Slade was holed up with his last two men. Oliver knew he needed to go, but he wasn’t sure how exactly he was going to cure Slade while managing not to let Laurel die in the process.

“There are three of them and twelve of us.” Bruce pointed out. “Keep him focused on you, we’ll handle the rest.”

Oliver went to the powerplant where Slade was hiding. As he rounded a corner, he saw Slade standing there with a sword against Laurel’s throat. He started monologuing about how he wanted Oliver to feel exactly how he felt when he found Shado’s body. The anger, the despair, all of it. Oliver kept him talking, so he wouldn’t notice his two men being quietly cured and knocked out behind him. Soon, Slade was the only Mirakuru soldier left.

“I know what its like to hate, to want revenge. And now, I know what its like to see my enemy so distracted that he doesn’t see where the real danger is until its too late.” Oliver said as Sara stabbed Slade in the neck with a syringe, while also pulling Laurel to safety.

Batman yelled for everyone else to get out, and they did. Sara took Laurel to see their father, while Nyssa, the assassins, Roy, Nightwing and Red Robin did their best to control the unrest and looting that the Siege had sparked. Batman and the Arrow fought Slade throughout the building. The cure was still working its way through his veins and even without the serum, he was a formidable opponent. They finally managed to corner him on the roof, when Oliver shot an ensnarement arrow at him, restraining him to a pillar.

“You were wrong, by the way.”

“What?” Slade said.

“You were wrong. You took the wrong woman. Laurel’s not the woman I love.”

“Let me guess, it’s Felicity.” He remarked. “That’s too bad. You really shouldn’t have wasted your time with me then. Not considering what his plans are for her.” He said with a dark chuckle.

“No, Waller, its over.” Bruce growled into his comm. Oracle had managed to establish a connection to ARGUS headquarters. “Slade’s out of commission. Call off the drone strike. Now.”

They watched the drone change its flight path and return in the direction it came from. Batman then turned to the Arrow. “We need to stop the Joker.”

“Any idea where he is?’

“I can guess where he was.”

Oliver returned to Queen Mansion to find his family's home trashed and vandalized. The furniture had been smashed; the wallpaper had been ripped off the wall which had been sprayed with graffiti. Pictures had either been defaced, smashed or used for target practice with knives, forks, darts and arrows.

Oliver toured the ruin that had once been his home. Then he saw a portrait of his mother and father with black dots had been sprayed over the eyes and a red smile over their mouths. Sprayed in green were the words “BOO HOO I MISS MOMMY AND DADDY”

Batman came in. “They’re gone, are you OK?”

“No.” answered Oliver. He was very far away from being ok.

“Good. Use it.” He then realized something. This scenario felt way too familiar. He knew where the Joker had gone to, and just hoped they wouldn’t be too late.

****

ARGUS had been in total chaos since the bomb went off. Joker hadn’t just set off a bomb, he also detonated an EMP. The EMP disengaged the electronic locks keeping ARGUS’s prisoners in their cells. They escaped and stormed through the facility, looking for Waller. Understandably, they wanted revenge. Diggle, Lyla and Waller could hear the sounds of the prisoners fighting, and most likely killing, the agents stationed in the doorwat.

“We’ll be fine.” Waller said as the agents in the control room with her began drawing their weapons.

“What makes you say that?”

“I might not have foreseen Joker setting off a bomb in here, but I did plan for an EMP. This room only opens through a secure access key. Without power, no one can get in.”

“That also means we can’t get out.” Lyla pointed out.

“We’ll have power back in….about five minutes. There’s no need to lose your head.” She said. ARGUS’s power generators had a failsafe, meaning nothing could stop them from turning back on.

 

Felicity watched the smoke rise from Starling. She had been tied to a chair on the roof of the city reservoir building.

“Hm, Waller must be slipping. I thought she'd have bombed the city by now.” Jack said, checking his watch. “oh well, Slade might be finished but I’m just beginning.”

“What are you gonna do?” Felicity asked.

“Let's just say I’m gonna keep my promise to put a smile on the face of the city.”

“YOu've poisoned the water supply, haven’t you?”

“Yes! An old trick I know but with a new variation this time.”

“The Mirakuru.”

“Yes, you know how good a chemist I am so I got thinking, what would happen if I crossed Joker Venom with Mirakuru? I found out the answer and got some very interesting results.” He explained. “In a few short hours Starling will be ripping itself apart “

“I won't let you.” They both turned to see Batman

“Ah Batsy. How nice of you to join us.” Joker said, moving closer to the lever that would open the viaduct releasing the Joker-Mirakuru blend into the waters of Starling.

“Jack, don't! Stop! You don't have to!” Felicity yelled.

“You’re right. I don't have to, I WANT TO.” Joker grabbed the lever and pulled. “SEND IN THE CLOWNS!”

Batman pressed a button on his gauntlet and suddenly the viaduct exploded.

“What did you do?” Felicity screamed.

“I blew the viaduct to stop the water getting out. You've lost Joker.” growled Batman

“Have I? I think you'll find that I still have an ace up my sleeve.” He said, still grinning and slipping a large syringe out of his sleeve. Suddenly he grabbed the chair that Felicity was tied to and pulled it close to him and held the syringe to her neck. Batman stepped forward batarang drawn. “Not another step, Bats. You think you had it bad before, now you’re gonna have it in stereo. Wherever you go no matter what, you will hear us now and forever. Mocking you and laughing at you.” Joker hissed before turning to Felicity. His voice turned comforting. “Don't worry Lissy. It'll only hurt at first, but you'll feel so much happier when the laughing starts.”

Suddenly an arrow flew past Felicity. It knocked the syringe out of her brother’s hand and sent it tumbling to the ground where it smashed.

“NO!” Joker screamed, enraged. Felicity turned to see Oliver standing there, bow in hand. “SLADE WAS RIGHT! YOU ARE JUST AS BIG A PAIN IN THE SIDE AS HIM!” He pulled out a crowbar, and Batman’s scowl intensified. “Look familiar? I saved it just for you.”

“We still have you outnumbered.” Oliver reminded him, but the Joker just smirked.

“Sicc ‘em.”

Out of nowhere came two massive hyenas came running towards Oliver, knocking him over and causing him to drop his bow. Bud began biting right arm while Lou went for Oliver’s left leg.

Meanwhile Joker charged at Batman, swinging his crowbar at him. “LET'S DANCE!”


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman and Arrow face off against Joker, possibly for the last time.

“We still have you outnumbered.” Oliver reminded him, but the Joker just smirked.

“Sicc ‘em.”

Out of nowhere came two massive hyenas came running towards Oliver, knocking him over and causing him to drop his bow. Bud began biting right arm while Lou went for Oliver’s left leg.

Meanwhile Joker charged at Batman, swinging his crowbar at him. “LET'S DANCE !!!”

Bruce dodged out of the way of the crowbar and punched the Joker in the face. He went to strike again, but Joker was too quick and moved out of the way. He made the fake flower on his lapel begin to squirt. Acid came shooting out and it hit Batman on one side of his cowl, starting to melt it. While Batman was frantically trying to make sure the acid didn’t get on his skin, Joker got a lucky shot into his ribs with the crowbar, causing the Dark Knight to fall down. When he was on the ground, he began kicking Batman.

Meanwhile, Oliver was able to shake Bud off of his arm, but Lou was still firmly attached to his leg. Oliver’s suit had some protection, but he wasn’t sure how well it would hold up against two hyenas. While trying to shake Lou off of him, Oliver realized he couldn’t do it without possibly hurting the animals.  He pulled out two fletchettes that were laced in a tranquilizer. He stabbed one into the side of the hyena still biting his leg. Lou fell over in a heap. He stopped to take a breath, and found Bud attacking him again. The second fletchette was used on the other hyena.

Oliver regained his bearings. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Joker kicking Batman in the side over and over again. As he moved closer, he heard a squelching sound and discovered Batman was bleeding. Joker had blades attached to the toes of his shoes. He fired an arrow at the Joker, hoping to get his attention so Batman could get back up.

The arrow flew forward and grazed the side of Joker’s face. He stopped kicking Batman and turned around. “Ugh, you. Can’t you just die already?”

“It’s over, Joker.”

“Is it? Oh, Poo?” He said in a sing-song voice. He looked around, waiting for Harley to pop out of the shadows to take Oliver on. She was supposed to be up here by now, to escape with Felicity if Arrow and Batman managed to find them before the water supply was tainted. “Oh well, more fun for me.”

 

One floor down, Harley was making her way upstairs when a staff came out of nowhere and hit her in the face. She went tumbling down a few steps before catching herself.

“Going somewhere?” Sara asked.

“You’re the Canary, right? Do you know what happens to birds that fly too far from theirs nests?” She asked. “Mister Jay kills em. Just ask Batsy.” She pulled out her gun and began firing at Sara. After a few rounds, it was knocked out of her hand by someone behind her.

“You will find that Taer Al Safher is not so easy to kill.” Nyssa said, lowering her bow slightly.

“Two against one? Now we’re having fun!” She said with a grin as she picked up the bat she’d dropped to shoot Sara and swung it at Nyssa.

The three women began fighting. Harley was a pretty good fighter. Her gymnastic and acrobatic abilities made cornering her difficult and her psychosis made it hard to predict her next move. She was an excellent fighter, but she didn’t stand much of a chance against one League-trained assassin, let alone two. Nyssa knocked her legs out from under her, Sara separated her staff into two batons and used one to knock her out.

“We should kill her.”

“Ollie said no killing, remember? Besides, according to Felicity, she’s not evil, she’s just sick.” Sara said. “Let’s just tie her up and move on.”

They ran up to the roof. The sight was confusing to say the least. Two fully grown hyenas were unconscious near Felicity, who was still tied to a chair. Batman and Arrow were fighting the Joker. Nyssa was sporting a black eye and Sara was wiping the blood from her broken nose off of her face.

“Finally!” Felicity shouted when she saw Sara. “A little help over here?”

Sara ran over and freed Felicity from her restraints. After she was untied, she told Sara to leave, saying Oliver and Bruce had the situation under control. They were still fighting the Joker, but her brother was clearly starting to lose steam and his energy was fading a little bit.

Batman had to pull back as well, since the knife wounds were starting to bleed more heavily. Oliver wasn’t getting tired, so he continued to fight the Joker. Jack noticed when Bruce took a step back and began laughing.

“Getting’ sleepy, Batsy? Wanna take a break?”

“I’ll take one once you’re back in Arkham.”

“Not likely. William Tell over here’s gonna make sure that doesn’t happen.” He turned his attention to Oliver. “Slade told me about you, you know.”

Oliver didn’t respond, instead he just hit Jack again.

“Said you’re just like him, a killer.”

He hit him again, this time much harder. The Joker fell to the ground and didn’t get up. The fight was over. He did continue talking though. “You’re a killer, just like Slade. Just like me. It’s a good thing your mommy died before she could see you like this.”

Hearing him joke so callously about Moira set Oliver off. He continued hitting Joker over and over, and his face became more and more covered in blood.

“Yeah, that’s it. Kill me. C’mon, do it. I want you to do it. Show Lissy who you really are. Show Batman who you really are.”

“That’s enough.” Felicity said, speaking up. “Remember your promise to Tommy.”

“Oh, if that promise was not to kill, he’s already broken that one, baby sister.” Joker taunted. “C’mon, do it. Kill me. Do it. Heh heh heh.”

Oliver moved away from the Joker. “I’m nothing like you. Or Slade.”

Joker started laughing. “Just wait. All it takes is one bad day.”

Oliver shot him in the leg with a tranquilizer arrow so that he’d finally stop talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to personal reasons, there won't be a chapter next week.


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joker and Slade are both defeated, but there's still a big mess to clean up.

Oliver moved away from the Joker. “I’m nothing like you. Or Slade.”

Joker started laughing. “Just wait. All it takes is one bad day.”

Oliver shot him in the leg with a tranquilizer arrow so that he’d finally stop talking. The Joker passed out and Oliver relaxed his body. Slade had been stopped. The Joker and Harley had been stopped. It was finally over.

“How bad is it?” Felicity asked.

“What?”

“I saw Slade’s army march off, and then I was taken to Queen Mansion where they didn’t let me see what was going on. After that, Harley dragged me here where I obviously couldn’t see what was happening in Starling. How bad is the damage?”

“The bridges and tunnels are all destroyed. Batman just had to destroy the city’s water supply to destroy the Joker gas. Slade’s army was stopped but there’s still a bunch of looting probably going on. The city’s the mess.”

“Sounds like this city could use the Arrow.” She said.

With the Joker and Harley both incapacitated, Batman flew to Gotham in the Batplane so that they’d be locked up in Arkham before either woke up. Part of Bruce wanted to stay and question the Joker, but he knew that could wait.

“Til next time, Batsy.” Joker yelled down the hall as he walked away. “And tell Lissy I’ll see her soon.”

 

Digg, Waller, Lyla and the rest of ARGUS spent hours trying to track down all of the escaped prisoners. When the power went out, the outer doors had locked, but there were plenty of nooks and crannies in the building for Task Force X members to hide.

“Do you ever think this might be a sign?” Diggle asked Lyla.

“Sign of what?”

“Maybe having a suicide squad isn’t the best idea. Forcing people to work for you under threat of death hasn’t seemed to make them any less inclined to kill you.”

“Waller seems to think the ends justify the means. And we’ve seen results.”

“Four hours ago, she was going to level Starling City. Not to mention the fact that we almost died when the Joker broke in here.” He pointed out. “I’m just saying, maybe she shouldn’t be the one calling all of the shots.”

“Maybe.”

The only thing Lyla knew, for sure, was that Waller seemed convinced she was making the right call. Trying to destroy Starling in a drone strike made her doubt Waller’s choices for the first time. She was now convinced that maybe keeping all of the prisoners at ARGUS’s headquarters wasn’t the best idea. Waller announced that all of the prisoners had been accounted for, dead or alive. They went back to the control room.

“Go see Dr. Anderson, Agent Michaels.” Waller told her.

“I don’t-.”

“When Mr. Diggle here pushed you to the ground to protect you from the blast, you fell on your stomach. You might feel fine, but you might not be. I don’t want this to be a problem later, if something’s happened to your son.”

“Did she just say “your son”?” John asked.

“Congratulations, Mr. Diggle, you’re going to be a father.”

 

The night after Slade was stopped, Sara left Starling with Nyssa. She wanted to stay and help restore order to the city, but Ra’s al Ghul had been clear. As soon as Slade was off the board, Nyssa, Sara and the assassins were to return to Nanda Parbat. At least this time, Sara was able to properly say goodbye to her family.

It took days for things to calm down in Starling. Some of the fires set by Slade’s men were still burning the next day. Slade himself was taken into ARGUS custody and kept sedated at the headquarters until they could move him to a better prison.

Nightwing, Red Robin and Batman joined Oliver, Roy and Digg in helping restore order to the city and calming things down. There were a few people trying to benefit from the chaos, mostly organized crime or gang members, but most of the strife was from ordinary people. Normal people who were scared and desperate and didn’t know what they were supposed to do.

According to the government, it would be a few weeks before the bridges and tunnels could be repaired to the point of being safe to use. It would also take weeks before they could be sure the water supply was no longer contaminated. An anonymous donor paid to have the viaduct repaired at no cost to the city. People spent days trying to track the donor’s identity down, but never made much progress.

 

Thea, who’d vanished during the chaos, sent Oliver a text after a week claiming she was going to see the world and figure things out on her own. She sent Roy a different text, saying that he’d lied to her and she was tired of liars. She didn’t want anyone in her life that wouldn’t tell her the truth.

“Now, where were we?” Malcolm asked after she’d sent both texts.

“You were attacking me with a stick.” She deadpanned.

“Sassing me will not improve your skills. Nor will it make me go easier on you.” He responded.

 

Queen Consolidated was a mess, given that the board had all been killed and the CEO, Jay Smoak, was missing and thought dead. It was decided that, temporarily, the company would be run by the Vice Presidents of the company as a pseudo-board of directors until something more sustainable could be organized. Since Oliver owned half of the company, and the other half was up in the air, some thought Felicity owned it, others believed it still belonged to Stellmoor, there weren’t enough stockholders to warrant calling an emergency meeting to vote in a new board.

Two weeks after all of the chaos, Felicity received her most recent paycheck. She opened the envelope and her jaw dropped.

“Felicity, what’s-.” Oliver started to ask.

“He- he paid me- the Joker-.”

“What did he do?”

“Look at how many zeroes are on this check!” She said, not knowing how else to explain it.

She’d been paid her normal salary. It was higher than it used to be, due to her promotion. It wasn’t the salary that had her speechless, it was the other payment. Jay had paid her $10 million dollars as a “bonus”.

“I can’t- this has to be a mistake. A glitch.”

“I don’t think it is.”

“Where did he even get $10 million? The company’s accounts haven’t been touched. He definitely doesn’t have that kind of cash lying around. I don’t-.”

“From me.”

“What?”

“When he became CEO, he got more than just the company and the mansion. He also got quite a bit of stock, which he could’ve put in your name. if he then sold that stock before the siege- I’m just saying he probably got it from me.”

“Take it then.” She said, handing him the check. “It’s your money. Take it.”

“I can’t.”

“I don’t want it. It’s yours. Just take it!” She said.

“You deserve it more than I do.”


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Arrow gets a semi-permanent new member and Starling recovers from all of the damage done to it.

****After Felicity learned her brother had gifted her over ten million dollars of Queen Consolidated stock, and Oliver made it clear he wouldn’t accept that money back from her, she was at a little bit of a loss about what to do. On one hand, that was enough money to do pretty much whatever she wanted, which opened up a lot of possibilities for her. On another, this wasn’t really her money and it was more than most people would make in their entire lives. After thinking things over for several days, she donated half of the money to various charities and kept the other half, unsure of what to do with it.

Speaking of Queen Consolidated, after a few long and in depth investigations by various government agencies, it turned out that Felicity did own the other share of the stock. No one wanted Felicity to be in charge of Queen Consolidated, most of all Felicity, so it was decided that the company would start looking for a new CEO and create a new board of directors. Oliver considered trying to get Queen Consolidated back, but realized he wasn’t interested in being the CEO again.

Shortly after the decision was announced, Ray Palmer of Palmer Technologies expressed an interest in buying QC. After weeks of back and forth, and a number of meetings Felicity wished she didn’t need to attend, Queen Consolidated was purchased by Palmer Tech. Felicity stayed with the company as a Vice President.

The months after the Siege ended were interesting to say the least. Many of the bridges in Starling needed to be completely rebuilt after the Joker’s bombs damaged them. This was good news for the construction firms in the city, but bad news for everyone else, as it meant all deliveries needed to come in either by plane or by ship. It took weeks for the Army Corp of Engineers to inspect all of the bridges after they were rebuilt or repaired and declared them safe to use.

While the situation with the bridges was annoying, there were still planes, trains and ferries that could be used to travel in and out of the city. The more troubling problem was the water shortage. Batman was many things, thorough definitely being one of them. When he destroyed the viaduct, Bruce had planted the explosives in such a way that the repair wouldn’t be easy. Starling had to survive off of bottled water for weeks. People were sweaty, annoyed and miserable for a few weeks and the price of water inflated to around $10 a bottle towards the end. Eventually, the viaduct was repaired by a Wayne Enterprises subsidiary and the city began to recover.

Team Arrow spent the next few months tracking down all of the escaped prisoners that had been released in the chaos. Some had been released by a few of Slade’s men when they stormed Iron Heights before being cured and stopped; others were patients at the local asylum that Joker had let out to add to the chaos even further. The difficult part wasn’t catching some of the escapees, it was making sure they didn’t send someone back to the wrong facility.

While the SCPD was recovering from the attacks on the precincts, the force received an influx of new officers. Most were citizens who felt the urge to help keep their city safe after a second terrorist attack happened in two years. Oliver was happy they were getting assistance, but wasn’t too interested in the new cops.

Except one, that is. Bludhaven detective Dick Grayson transferred to Starling the day after Batman and Red Robin went home to Gotham. That night, Grayson came to Verdant and told the team he was staying for a while.

“Why are you staying though?” Felicity asked.

“You don’t want me to?” He countered.

“I didn’t say that, but I’m curious about why you’re staying. Is it to keep an eye on the city for Batman? To keep an eye on us? Or to help us restore order?” Felicity wasn’t stupid. She knew Batman didn’t trust anyone. She also knew he wouldn’t pass up the chance to keep an eye on the Joker’s family, just in case.

“Why would Batman want me to keep an eye on you?”

“Have you met him? If you look up the word “paranoid” in the dictionary, it’s a picture of him. He made it clear how he felt about the way we work sometimes, its not unbelievable to think he’d want to know what’s going on. Not to mention my connection with his archrival.”

“Bruce isn’t worried about what any of you might do, but the city’s fragile right now, and he figured you could use the help. If you don’t want my help, I can always-.”

“No one said we didn’t want your help.” Oliver said. “I think Felicity just wants to make sure we fully understand what’s going on, what this partnership is.”

Thus, Nightwing and Team Arrow continued to be allies. Working together was difficult at first, as each side needed to get used to working with the others. Oliver and Bruce had very different operating styles and leadership styles, so there was some headbutting as Dick started to become involved in the group.

“Any word from Gotham?” Felicity asked Dick one night as they were waiting for the others to arrive for patrol.

“I don’t….I’m not exactly sure what you mean.”

“Yes, you do.” She responded. “Bruce, despite knowing my dislike for him, never stops asking for my help with the Joker because I’m one of the three people he won’t try to kill. It’s a bit weird, then, that after weeks of my brother being in Arkham, Bruce hasn’t even tried to ask for my help.”

“If you don’t want to help, why would he keep asking?”

“Him. I don’t want to help him, and he knows that. He also knows that I will help if someone’s actually in danger, which they still might be. I refused to do that once, and someone died because of it.” She said, remembering what happened to Jason Todd. “So, any news from Gotham?”

“The Joker’s been quiet. Too quiet. He hasn’t attacked any guards recently, hasn’t driven any therapists insane recently, nothing.” He admitted. “Which is suspicious.”

“Of course, it is. He’s the Joker, he’s not gonna suddenly stop being the Joker because he got caught for the 23rd time and thrown in Arkham.”

“You think he’s planning something?”

“When is he not?” She responded.

The rest of the team arrived soon after and they had an uneventful patrol. Dick and Felicity both kept their conversation fresh in their minds for the next few days. Three days later, Felicity, Oliver, Digg and Roy walked into the lair to find Batman standing there with Dick.

“What brings you to-?” Oliver started to ask.

“Joker broke out, didn’t he?” Felicity asked.

“Yes. He escaped from Arkham last night. I don’t know where he’s currently headed, but this is one of the most likely places.”

“Because his sister is here.” Roy said.

“That, and when I returned him to Arkham, he made a comment about how he’d see her soon.”

 “Are you staying to see if he shows up or did you just come to warn us?” Oliver asked.

“His escape caused a number of other inmates to escape as well. There are a few I haven’t returned to Arkham yet. I need to make sure Gotham is safe before I can hunt the Joker down.” He said. “Once they’re taken care of, I’ll be back. Keep an eye out for him and contact me if you even think he’s here.”

 

Across town, Laurel was sitting in her apartment, going over some cases. She had a number of cases that were heading to trial and she wanted to make sure her argument was ironclad before she even stepped into the courtroom. She was rereading a sworn witness statement when there was a knock at her door.

Always one to be cautious, she tried looking through the peephole, but the person standing at the door was wearing a hat and had their head tilted down which made seeing their face impossible. She was about to ignore them, assuming they were trying to sell something, and would leave when she didn’t answer the door. Then, the person raised their arm and knocked again.

“Ms. Lance? Dinah Laurel Lance?” He called.

He knew her name, which made her think he wasn’t a salesperson and this was something serious. Laurel unlocked the front door and opened it slightly. The man looked up from the floor. The first thing Laurel saw were red eyes and an impossibly wide smile on his face.

“Well, hello gorgeous.” The Joker said with a laugh before forcing his way inside.


End file.
